Global emissions rising beyond expectations

Global industry may be emitting carbon dioxide faster than expected, according to a new study. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported by the Wall Street Journal, shows emissions are growing fastest in China, India and other developing countries that burn large amounts of coal and other fossil fuels. "From 2000 to 2004, the annual rate of growth of carbon dioxide emissions on a global scale was three times the annual rate seen in the 1990s," said Carnegie Institution of Washington ecologist Christopher Field, an author of the study. In 2000, the growth rate jumped to 3.1% per year from 1.1%.The paper by a group of international climate scientists, says 7.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide were emitted by industry around the world from 2000 to 2004. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had projected maximum total emissions over that period would range from 7.2 to 7.7 billion tons.