Carbon dioxide emissions are the primary driver of global climate change. It’s widely recognised that to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to urgently reduce emissions.
In this chart we see the growth of global emissions from the mid-18th century through to today.
We see that prior to the Industrial Revolution, emissions were very low. Growth in emissions was still relatively slow until the mid-20th century. After then, emissions have continued to grow rapidly; we now emit over 34 billion tonnes each year.
Emissions growth has slowed over the last few years, but they have yet to reach their peak.
If we want to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario, it needs more rapid changes to meet the targets. If nothing is done, greenhouse gas emissions will more than double in the next 20 years.
