Graph of the Day: Largest Jump ever in Carbon Emissions

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After a brief hiatus due to world-wide recession, carbon emissions jumped dramatically, putting us as the high end of IPCC emissions scenarios.

After a dip in 2009 caused by the global financial crisis, emissions are estimated to have climbed to a record 30.6 Gigatonnes (Gt), a 5% jump from the previous record year in 2008, when levels reached 29.3 Gt.

In addition, the IEA has estimated that 80% of projected emissions from the power sector in 2020 are already locked in, as they will come from power plants that are currently in place or under construction today.

“This significant increase in CO2 emissions and the locking in of future emissions due to infrastructure investments represent a serious setback to our hopes of limiting the global rise in temperature to no more than 2ºC,” said Dr Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the IEA who oversees the annual World Energy Outlook, the Agency’s flagship publication.

Ok. No sense in hand wringing. We have work to do.
http://climatecrocks.com/2011/06/02/graph-of-the-day-largest-jump-ever-in-carbon-emissions/