UNFCCC REPORT: 2.3% INCREASE IN GHG EMISSIONS IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, recently gave a press briefing on the highlights of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Data for 2008. The emissions data are from 41 industrialized countries that have GHG reporting obligations. Given the recent trends in GHG emissions, Mr. Boer also mentioned about the tasks that need to be addressed in the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland (1-12 December 2008). The 2008 emissions data report shows that the GHG emissions (from the 41 industrialized countries) in 2006, was 5% below the 1990 levels. However, between the year 2000 and 2006, a disturbing rise in emissions (by 2.3%) was observed. For countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the 2006 GHG emissions were 17% below the “Kyoto baseline”. Canada was reported to have one of the highest increases in GHG emissions in 2006 (21.3%). According to Executive Secretary Boer, the rising emissions “underscore urgent need for political action on climate change. This is an important issue which needs to be discussed at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan."