Earth’s Carbon Emissions from Fossil Fuels Hit A Record High for 3rd Straight Year

The world’s carbon pollution from fossil fuels rose this year, reaching a record high, according to a recently published research. This is the third year in a row that carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have increased.

“Obviously it’s a bad thing,” said Rob Jackson, an Earth-science professor at Stanford University who led the new research. “It’s just one more year where we churn along emitting record levels of carbon-dioxide pollution. The years and decades are slipping by.”

The record high has come even as renewables have seen rapid growth, especially in America. The United States is now the world’s second-largest market for solar energy, slightly edging out India, according to new data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “Both are about half the size of China,” Jenny Chase, its head solar analyst said.

The new estimate of 2019’s carbon emissions was conducted by the Global Carbon Project, which Jackson leads. Its results were published today across three journals: Environmental Research Letters, Nature Climate Change, and Earth System Science Data.

Historically, the rise in carbon emissions has closely tracked the growth of the world’s economy. Last year, for instance, carbon pollution rose by 2.7 percent, while the global economy grew by 3.0 percent.

This year, the global economy is predicted to grow by about 3.0 percent again, according to the International Monetary Fund’s October estimate. But its overall carbon emissions will only increase by about 0.6 percent.

“The glimmer of hope is that the growth [in carbon emissions] is slower than in the last two years,” Jackson said. “We need to be reducing emissions, though, not slowing growth.”