The Kyoto protocol’s hope of pegging greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2010 is looking less viable. Carbon dioxide emissions rose 4.5 per cent last year to 27.5 billion tonnes – a massive 26 per cent higher than in 1990.
According to a study published last week by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin, the US is still out in front pumping out 5.8 billion tonnes in 2004. But developing nations are fast catching up – China and India have both nearly doubled their CO2 production since 1990 (see Graphic).
And things could have been…
