Carbon emission rose most in India during last year, says study

India tops the list of countries when the rise of carbon emission is considered over the last year, shows a report released in COP 27 at Sharm El Sheikh on Friday.

The 2022 carbon budget, released by Global Carbon Project, shows that, despite repeated warning from the experts to cut down greenhouse emission at the soonest, the emissions have actually traversed the opposite direction during last year and increased marginally in 2022 over last year. Carbon budget is a scientific assessment of the global carbon cycle.

“Emissions are projected to fall in China (0.9 per cent) and the EU (0.8 per cent), and increase in the USA (1.5 per cent) and India (6 per cent), with a 1.7 per cent rise in the rest of the world combined” reads the report, a copy of which is with The Plurals.

“If current emissions levels persist, there is now a 50 per cent chance that we will exceed global warming of 1.5°C in nine years”, added the report.

“Global fossil CO2 emissions are projected to rise 1.0 per cent in 2022 (range 0.1 per cent to 1.9 per cent) led by growth in oil use, reaching 36.6 GtCO2. The report further says that “projected 2022 emissions from coal and oil are above their 2021 levels, with oil contributing most to total emissions growth”.

According to the report, the emissions in India “are projected to increase by 6.0 per cent (range 3.9 pe cent to 8.0 per cent), driven mostly by a 5 per cent increase in coal emissions”. India already is responsible for over one-twelfth of global emissions; and third globally in terms of gross emission volume though mush low in the rank of per capita emission.

The report says that the emissions from oil is set to increase sharply, with a projected rise of 10 per cent, and likely to return to 2019 level; mainly because of aviation sector turning around post the most difficult period of Covid 19 pandemic.

Emissions from natural gas are projected to decline 4 per cent but contribute little to the total change as gas is a small part of the energy mix in India.

Incidentally the oil emissions – one third of global emissions – are projected to rise 2.2 per cent, and dominate the global rise in fossil CO2 emissions.

Emissions from cement emissions – 5 per cent of global emissions – are projected to decrease overall; but set to increase in India.

The analysis of the data shows that during 2000-2021, the emission in coal sector in India has risen about three times ( 0.57 to 1.80 gt CO2 equivalent); twice in oil sector (0.31 to 0.62 gt); thrice in gas (0.04 to 0.13 gt) and thrice in cement sector (0.05 to 0.15 gt).

The report says that atmospheric CO 2 level is projected to reach

417.2 ppm in 2022, 51