Abstract

Efforts to control climate change require the stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. This can only be achieved through a drastic reduction in global CO2 emissions. Yet fossil fuel emissions increased by an average of 2.5% per year between 2000 and 2009. Fossil fuel emissions since year 2000 increased in conjunction with increased contributions from emerging economies, trade, the use of coal etc. In contrast, CO2 emissions from deforestation & land-use changes appear to have declined by 25% between the 1990s-2000s. The presentation will review the drivers of recent changes in CO2 emissions, and discuss the partitioning of the emissions between the atmosphere, ocean and land CO2 sinks, discussing the uncertainties in the carbon cycle, and the possibility of establishing an International Carbon Office to institutionalize data analysis and assessing the carbon balance.