ISLAMABAD, June 17 (APP): Climate Change: World carbon emissions stopped growth
Carbon emissions stopped growing in 2015 for the first time in 10 years as the world turned its back on coal and embraced energy efficiency and renewable power, according to a new set of statistics.
With the exception of a drop in global emissions around the time of the 2009 financial crisis, which heavily depressed overall business activity, the figure of 0.1% growth in CO2 is the lowest for 25 years, reported BBC science.
China led the way in driving down emissions but the latest figures from an oil company come with a warning that the progress may not last.
Wind power capacity grew by 17.4% and solar by 32.6% last year with China overtaking Germany and the US as the largest generator of solar. America's overall renewable energy capacity increased by 19.7%, Germany's by 10.9% and Britain's by only 4.8%.
Global emissions nearly stall after a decade of rapid growth, report shows.
The pledges and determination shown by world governments at the Paris climate change talks in Paris meant there would likely be "further policies aimed at shifting the fuel-mix towards cleaner, lower-carbon fuels, with renewable energy, along with natural gas, the main beneficiary.
Coal consumption fell worldwide by 1.8% from last year even as the price slumped by 20%, the latest statistics show.
Much of the decline was a result of the US switching from its own coal supplies to shale gas for generating electricity at power stations.