Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023—reaching record levels, according to new research from the Global Carbon Project science team.
Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023—reaching record levels, according to new research from the Global Carbon Project science team.
The annual Global Carbon Budget projects fossil carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions of 36.8 billion metric tons in 2023, up 1.1% from 2022. The 2023 edition (the 18th annual report) was published in the journal Earth System Science Data.
Fossil CO2 emissions are falling in some regions, including Europe and the U.S., but rising overall—and the scientists say global action to cut fossil fuels is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous climate change.
Emissions from land-use change (such as deforestation) are projected to decrease slightly but are still too high to be offset by current levels of reforestation and afforestation (new forests).
The report projects that total global CO2 emissions (fossil + land-use change) will be 40.9 billion metric tons in 2023.
This is about the same as 2022 levels, and part of a 10-year « plateau »—far from the steep reduction in emissions that is urgently needed to meet global climate targets.
The research team included the University of Exeter, the University of East Anglia (UEA), CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich and 90 other institutions around the world.
« The impacts of climate change are evident all around us, but action to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels remains painfully slow, » said Professor Pierre Friedlingstein, of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, who led the study.
