The volume of carbon dioxide belched into the atmosphere from human activity this year is on track to decline slightly from last year's emissions, according to a new analysis published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday. The anticipated decrease in CO2 emissions comes even as the world economy is growing, suggesting a turning point in clean energy development—and a long-hoped-for "decoupling" of economic growth and increased carbon emissions.
[...] Decreased coal use in China—whose carbon dioxide emissions account for nearly one-third of global emissions—was largely responsible for the decline in global emissions, the researchers concluded. After a decade of rapid growth, China's emissions rate slowed to 1.2 percent in 2014 and is expected to drop by approximately 3.9 percent in 2015, according to the report. More than half of new energy needs in China were met in 2014 from non-fossil fuel sources, such as hydro, nuclear, wind and solar power.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Tuesday December 08 2015, @03:20PM
A better analogy would be a pre-diabetic eating less calories than last year.
If I were their doctor I'd view it as an encouraging step in the right direction, but they're still eating more than enough to gain weight.