Guardian: "Carbon dioxide emissions from industry rose an estimated 2.6% this year, according to a study of global carbon emissions.
The research by the Global Carbon Project, an annual report card on mankind's CO2 pollution, also says emissions grew 3.1% in 2011, placing the world on a near-certain path towards dangerous climate change, such as more heat waves, droughts and storms.
The finding will give renewed urgency to the nearly 200 countries attending international climate talks in Doha, Qatar, which run until 7 December and aim to galvanize ambition in fighting climate change by limiting warming to below 2C, a goal nations agreed in 2010. Temperatures have already risen by 0.8C since pre-industrial times.
"I am worried that the risks of dangerous climate change are too high on our current emissions trajectory. We need a radical plan," said co-author Corinne Le Quéré, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Britain and professor at the University of East Anglia.""
Global Carbon Project: "CO2 emissions from fossil fuels burning and cement production increased by 3% in 2011, with a total of 9.5±0.5 PgC emitted to the atmosphere (34.7 billion tonnes of CO2). These emissions were the highest in human history and 54% higher than in 1990 (the Kyoto Protocol reference year). In 2011, coal burning was responsible for 43% of the total emissions, oil 34%, gas 18%, and cement 5%.
CO2 emissions from fossil fuels burning and cement production are projected to increase by 2.6% in 2012, to a record high of 9.7±0.5 PgC (35.6 billion tonnes of CO2).
The biggest contributors to global emissions in 2011 were China (2.5 PgC, 28%), the United States (1.5 PgC, 6%), the European Union (EU27; 1.0 PgC, 11%), and India (0.6 PgC, 7%). Contributions to global emissions growth in 2011 were largest from China (0.226 PgC above 2010 levels, 9.9% growth) and India (0.043 PgC, 7.5%). Emissions from USA were down by 0.028 (-1.8%) and EU27 down by 0.029 PgC (-2.8%)."
Global Carbon Budget 2012 (3 December 2012) (pdf)
Nature: "Antarctica and Greenland are rapidly losing their ice sheets because of climate change, says a comprehensive review.
A global team of researchers has come up with the 'most accurate estimate' yet for melting of the polar ice sheets, ending decades of uncertainty about whether the sheets will melt further or actually gain mass in the face of climate change.
The ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting at an ever-quickening pace. Since 1992, they have contributed 11 millimetres — or one-fifth — of the total global sea-level rise, say researchers. The two polar regions are now losing mass three times faster than they were 20 years ago, with Greenland alone now shedding ice at about five times the rate observed in the early 1990s."
Nature: "On 1 January 2013, the world can go back to emitting greenhouse gases with abandon. The pollution-reduction commitments made by 37 nations as part of the Kyoto Protocol will expire, leaving the planet without any international climate regulation."
Tegelijk met de afbraak van de gezondheidszorg door bezuinigingen in zowat alle Westerse landen gaan we naar een scenario dat niet veel goeds voorspelt, tenzij we in actie komen en drastische milieumaatregelen nemen.
Guardian: "Hospitals 'full to bursting' as bed shortage hits danger level
Death rates at more than a dozen trusts are worryingly high, says Dr Foster report based on NHS's own performance data"