Bonn, 21 October 2009 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data from Industrialised Countries Show Increases in 2007, Underscore Need for Ambitious Copenhagen Deal. 

According to the UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, greenhouse gas emissions from industrialised countries increased in 2007, continuing the upward trend of the previous six years.

Data submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC) show that greenhouse gas emissions of the 40 industrialised countries that have reporting obligations under the Convention rose by 1% from 2006 to 2007.  The 2007 emissions of this group of countries are about 4% below 1990 levels. But there was overall a 3% growth in emissions in the period from 2000 to 2007.

For the smaller group of 37 industrialised countries that have targets under the Kyoto Protocol, emissions in 2007 were almost the same as in 2006 (+0.1%). This figure is around 16% below the 1990 Kyoto baseline for industrialised countries with targets.  However, much of this reduction comes from the economic decline of economies in transition (countries in eastern and central Europe) in the 1990s and since 2000, the emissions have also been growing for this group (+3%).

“The continuing growth of emissions from industrialised countries remains worrying, despite the expectation of a momentary dip brought about by the global recession,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC. “So the numbers for 2007 underscore, once again, the urgent need to seal a comprehensive, fair and effective climate change deal in Copenhagen in December,” he added.

The UNFCCC secretariat has also released a report with summary data on transactions conducted in 2008 by industrialized countries in the course of implementing the market mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.  According to this data, industrialized countries have 55 billion tonnes of Kyoto Protocol units in their accounts.  Some of these units were already traded among countries in 2008, and trading is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.

“It is exciting to see how the carbon market evolved in 2008.  I am sure that such data will become more conclusive as we move closer to 2012, the final year of the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, and will show how policies and measures of the countries that have ratified the Protocol bear fruit,” said Mr. de Boer. “However, the ultimate size of the carbon market and its effectiveness to reduce global emissions will depend critically on the level of ambition shown by industrialised countries in Copenhagen,” he added.

Ends --

For an overview of greenhouse gas data, please consult the latest documents on the unfccc.int website:

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cmp5/eng/15.pdf

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cmp5/eng/15a01.pdf

http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/sbi/eng/12.pdf