31 May 2011

Carbon emissions reach record level

10:56 am on 31 May 2011

Global carbon emissions reached a record high last year, raising doubts that agreed cuts in greenhouse gases will achieved by 2020, an international energy watchdog says.

The International Energy Agency (IAEA) says emissions rose again after a dip caused by the financial crisis in 2009, and ended 5% up from the previous record in 2008.

China and India account for most of the rise, though emissions have also grown in developed countries, the BBC reports.

The IAEA says the findings are a wake-up call for bold and decisive action to limit the global temperature rise to no more than 2°C.

At a meeting last year in Mexico, world leaders agreed that deep cuts were needed to limit the rise in global temperature to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

But according to the IEA's estimate, worldwide carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector reached a record 30.6 gigatonnes in 2010.