Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels will continue to grow in 2019 but the rate of growth is slowing compared to previous years.  The new data from the Global Carbon Project, head-quartered in Australia, predicts that fossil fuel emissions are tipped to grow by 0.6 per cent in 2019, compared to 2 per cent growth we saw in 2018.

Emissions in the US and Europe declined in 2019, while emissions from China and India grew, albeit at a slower pace, while the rest of the world grew.  

But what about Australia? National emissions have remained flat. Emissions from stationary energy and fugitives rose substantially from mid-2018 to mid-2019, this was cancelled out mainly by lower emissions from agriculture because of the drought. Emissions from power generation also fell because of continued additions of wind and solar power. This trend is set to continue, but the emissions reductions are small.  

Join experts, including the Australian author of this new report, at an online briefing to hear what and who is behind the changes in this year’s emissions, including:

• Which countries are growing their carbon dioxide emissions and why?
• What impact did the Amazon fires have on emissions in 2019?
• Are Australia's carbon emissions falling or growing, and why? Will we reach our Paris goals "in a canter"?
• Is this a reason for optimism?

Speakers:

• Dr Pep Canadell, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project and author of the Global Carbon Budget
• Professor Frank Jotzo, Director of the Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University

This briefing has now ended. For a full recording click here, or see below.