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Title: A review of trends and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions by sector from 1990 to 2018

Journal Article · · Environmental Research Letters
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  1. Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin (Germany); University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
  2. UNSW, Sydney (Australia)
  3. Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (Germany)
  4. CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo (Norway)
  5. European Commission, Ispra (Italy)
  6. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Den Haag (The Netherlands)
  7. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria)
  8. University of Leeds (United Kingdom); TU Dortmund University (Germany)
  9. Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
  10. Univ. of Bristol (United Kingdom)
  11. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg (Austria)
  12. Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
  13. Openexp, Paris (France)
  14. Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands)
  15. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Univ. of London (United Kingdom); Weihai Inst. of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong Univ. (China)
  16. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  17. Energy and Climate Change Consultant (United Kingdom)
  18. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  19. Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo (Zimbabwe)
  20. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  21. Center for Energy Efficiency—XXI, Moscow (Russia)
  22. Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
  23. Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani (Thailand)
  24. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
  25. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)

Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be traced to five economic sectors: energy, industry, buildings, transport and AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land uses). In this topical review, we synthesize the literature to explain recent trends in global and regional emissions in each of these sectors. To contextualize our review, we present estimates of GHG emissions trends by sector from 1990 to 2018, describing the major sources of emissions growth, stability and decline across ten global regions. Overall, the literature and data emphasize that progress towards reducing GHG emissions has been limited. The prominent global pattern is a continuation of underlying drivers with few signs of emerging limits to demand, nor of a deep shift towards the delivery of low and zero carbon services across sectors. We observe a moderate decarbonization of energy systems in Europe and North America, driven by fuel switching and the increasing penetration of renewables. By contrast, in rapidly industrializing regions, fossil-based energy systems have continuously expanded, only very recently slowing down in their growth. Strong demand for materials, floor area, energy services and travel have driven emissions growth in the industry, buildings and transport sectors, particularly in Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and South-East Asia. An expansion of agriculture into carbon-dense tropical forest areas has driven recent increases in AFOLU emissions in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa. Identifying, understanding, and tackling the most persistent and climate-damaging trends across sectors is a fundamental concern for research and policy as humanity treads deeper into the Anthropocene.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung of Germany; European Research Council (ERC); Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom; US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDA; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); China Ministry of Science and Technology and National Climate Center
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; 01LG1910A; 03SFK5J0; 741950; NE/S012834/1; 80NSSC17K0348; EAR 1639318; 72073003; 2018YFC1509008; E003931901
OSTI ID:
1973647
Journal Information:
Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 16, Issue 7; ISSN 1748-9326
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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