A review of trends and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions by sector from 1990 to 2018
Journal Article
·
· Environmental Research Letters
more »
- Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin (Germany); University of Leeds (United Kingdom)
- UNSW, Sydney (Australia)
- Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (Germany)
- CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo (Norway)
- European Commission, Ispra (Italy)
- PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Den Haag (The Netherlands)
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria)
- University of Leeds (United Kingdom); TU Dortmund University (Germany)
- Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
- Univ. of Bristol (United Kingdom)
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg (Austria)
- Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)
- Openexp, Paris (France)
- Univ. of Groningen (Netherlands)
- Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Univ. of London (United Kingdom); Weihai Inst. of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong Univ. (China)
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Energy and Climate Change Consultant (United Kingdom)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo (Zimbabwe)
- Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
- Center for Energy Efficiency—XXI, Moscow (Russia)
- Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
- Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani (Thailand)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China)
- 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:
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung of Germany; China Ministry of Science and Technology and National Climate Center; European Research Council (ERC); National Natural Science Foundation of China; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom; US Department of Agriculture; US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS); US National Science Foundation; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1973647
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 23136410
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research Letters, Journal Name: Environmental Research Letters Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 16; ISSN 1748-9326
- Publisher:
- IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Agriculture, forestry, and other land-use emissions in Latin America
Population growth rate and energy consumption correlations: Implications for the future
Global and regional trends in mercury emissions and concentrations, 2010–2015
Journal Article
·
Wed Apr 06 20:00:00 EDT 2016
· Energy Economics
·
OSTI ID:1406808
Population growth rate and energy consumption correlations: Implications for the future
Conference
·
Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1997
·
OSTI ID:672159
Global and regional trends in mercury emissions and concentrations, 2010–2015
Journal Article
·
Tue Dec 25 19:00:00 EST 2018
· Atmospheric Environment (1994)
·
OSTI ID:1493913