For the first time, the world economy grows while carbon emissions don't
For the last 40 years, whenever the world economy grew, so did the Earth’s carbon dioxide levels — until 2014, The Washington Post reports. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that in 2014, the economy grew and CO2 levels didn’t.
In the past, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was due to an economic downturn. That’s because economic growth is often linked to increased energy use, which in turn increases emissions. The “decoupling” of the economy and carbon emissions was likely the result of efforts by energy companies to fight climate change, the IEA says.
Last year, global carbon monoxide emissions reached 32.3 billion metric tons — an amount equal to 2013’s levels. During the 40 years the IEA has been collecting…
Source:: The Verge
