The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that major increases in coal use by China and India will cause carbon dioxide emissions to jump to 42 billion tons in slightly more than two decades, a huge increase that bodes ill for efforts to slow global warming.
China’s burgeoning economy will drive the jump in CO2, with its carbon emissions rising from 5.3 billion tons in 2005 to more than 12 billion tons by 2030, the report said. China’s coal consumption is expected to grow by 3.2 percent per year and India’s by 2.4 percent a year. Carbon emissions by the U.S., long the world’s leading emitter of CO2, are projected to increase from six billion tons in 2005 to 6.9 billion by 2030. Not all analysts agreed with the forecast by the EIA, which is part of the Department of Energy. Some maintain that China’s coal consumption may be somewhat lower as its economy cools and it introduces energy-saving measures.
U.S Report Predicts 50 Percent Rise In CO2 By 2030
More From E360
-
Climate
Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2
-
INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
-
Solutions
Solomon Islands Tribes Sell Carbon Credits, Not Their Trees
-
INTERVIEW
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
-
RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
-
Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining
-
OPINION
Despite Official Vote, the Evidence of the Anthropocene Is Clear
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy