Global Carbon Emissions Rose by Record Volume Last Year
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The volume of greenhouse gases pumped into the world’s atmosphere increased by an unprecedented amount last year, scientists said in research published as countries meet to discuss how to limit climate change.
Emissions rose the equivalent of 510 million metric tons of carbon to 9.14 billion tons in 2010, the most in records dating to 1959, according to data compiled by the Global Carbon Project, which includes scientists from Europe, the U.S. and India. That’s a 5.9 percent leap, the largest since 2003, when they jumped 6 percent, the data show. Last year’s global emissions were 33.5 billion tons when converted to carbon dioxide.