Generally speaking, a sluggish economy adversely affects nearly every cause and initiative that is highly dependent upon consumer investment and government backing to be successful. However, a recent report by the Global Carbon Project suggests that the 2008 economic recession was actually responsible for a slowdown in greenhouse gas emissions, which are known to be the main cause of global warming.
Study lead author Pierre Friedlingstein and his colleagues said that there was a direct correlation between the recent financial market collapse and the 1.3 percent decrease in global emissions from 2008 to 2009.
"There is a close link between the world's gross domestic product and emissions of carbon dioxide," said Friedlingstein, of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
The 1.3 percent dip represents that first decline in global emissions in over ten years, according to USA Today. The biggest decreases in greenhouse gas emissions occurred in the United States, Japan and several European countries, which were responsible for drops of anywhere from 7 percent to 12 percent. Unfortunately, countries with emerging economies offset some of these reductions with record-setting emissions rates. In fact, China and India saw their total emissions increase by 8 percent and 6.2 percent respectively between 2008 and 2009.
Interestingly, the global decline in emissions was only about half of what the research team anticipated, due to the fact that the plummet in worldwide GDP wasn't as great as originally expected.
Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project, said that the International Monetary Fund overemphasized the impact that the economic collapse would have on worldwide GDP, thus leading to the group's inaccurate expectations.
"Our forecasts are as good as the quality of the forecast of global GDP," he said
Officials with the Global Carbon Project predict that if the economy continues to improve, carbon emissions will increase by more than 3 percent in 2010.
However, Friedlingstein and his colleagues noted that investments in clean technologies in first-world countries and improved land management techniques in emerging nations should help counteract this rise in the coming years.
Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Tammy Wolf
