July 11, 2003—A new United Nations report confirms that the developed world, which stabilized its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases during the 1990s, is likely to see these emissions rise by the end of the current decade.
Based on projections provided by the governments themselves, the report anticipates that the combined emissions of Europe, Japan, the United States, and other highly industrialized countries could grow by 8 percent from 2000 to 2010 despite domestic measures currently in place to limit them.
At the same time, the so-called transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe are starting to increase their emissions again. As a result, the developed world as a whole (highly industrialized plus transition countries) will see its emissions increase by 11 percent from 2000 to 2010.
The report, titled “Compilation and Synthesis of Third National Communications,” will be considered at a two-week meeting of the UN Climate Change Convention. Its projections, which are based on data from 2000-2001, can help governments plan their future climate change strategies.
