The report is based on recent results from the joint JRC/PBL Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), the latest statistics on energy use and various other activities.

In 2013, global CO₂ emissions grew to the new record of 35.3 billion tonnes (Gt). Sharp risers include Brazil (+ 6.2%), India (+ 4.4%), China (+ 4.2%) and Indonesia (+2.3%).

The much lower emissions increase in China of 4.2% in 2013 and 3.4% in 2012 was primarily due to a decline in electricity and fuel demand from the basic materials industry, and aided by an increase in renewable energy and by energy efficiency improvements.

The emissions increase in the United States in 2013 (+2.5%) was mainly due to a shift in power production from gas back to coal together with an increase in gas consumption due to a higher demand for space heating.

With the present annual growth rate, China has returned to the lower annual growth rates that it experienced before its economic growth started to accelerate in 2003, when its annual CO₂ emissions increased on average by 12% per year, excluding the credit crunch years. In 2013, the Chinese per capita CO₂ level of 7.4 tonnes CO₂/cap just exceeded the mean EU28 level of 7.3 tonnes CO₂/cap, which is 50% above the global average. It is still less than half than those of the United States of 16.6 tonnes CO₂/cap, which has one of the highest per capita emissions.

In terms of CO₂ emissions per 1000 US$ of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), China is declining, yet still scoring high with 650 kg CO₂ per 1000 US$ of GDP. In comparison, China’s emissions per 1000 US$ of GDP are almost twice those of the US (330 kg CO₂/1000 US$) and almost three times those of the EU (220 kg CO₂/1000 US$).

This is due to a relatively high, although steadily declining, energy intensity of the sectors contributing to GDP growth. China started to take new measures to improve energy efficiency and to make a fuel shift away from coal, including coal consumption targets, an increase in hydropower and structural changes.

Transport. The consumption of oil products increased by 1.7% in 2013, of which three-thirds was used in the transport sector and the remainder mainly by refineries and the manufacturing and building industries in almost equal shares.

According to national statistics, in 2013 total oil consumption in transport increased somewhat by 0.5%, relative to 2012 levels. This is in contrast to most preceding years since 2007, in which annual oil consumption decreased by 2.2% on average, mainly due to the increased energy efficiency of vehicles over time.

—Trends in global CO₂ emissions

Biofuel use for transport increased by 7.3% in 2013, increasing its share in transport fuels by 0.3 percentage points to 4.7%. Global biofuel production has been growing steadily from 16 billion liters in 2000; 100 billion liters in 2011; and 113 billion liters in 2013.

Current fuel ethanol and biodiesel use represents about 3% of global road transport fuels and could be expected to have reduced CO₂ emissions with a similar percentage if all biofuel had been produced sustainably. In practice, however, net reduction in total emissions in the biofuel production and consumption chain is between 35% and 80%. These estimates also exclude indirect emissions, such as those from additional deforestation. … Thus, the effective reduction will be between 1% and 2%, excluding possible indirect effects. Large uncertainty in terms of GHG emission reductions compared to the fossil fuels is driven by both the complexity of the biofuel pathways and the diversity of the feedstock, nevertheless, in the near future the advanced biofuels (lignocellulosic, algae) are expected to deliver more environmental benefits.

—Trends in global CO₂ emissions

Resources

• Trends in global CO₂ emissions: 2014 report