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A28 SCIENCE
Friday 7 december 2018

Climate reality check: Global carbon pollution up in 2018

By SETH BORENSTEIN goals. The long-held goal
AP Science Writer would limit global warm-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Af- ing to no more than 1.8
ter several years of little degrees (1 degree Cel-
growth, global emissions sius) from now, with a more
of heat-trapping carbon ambitious goal of limiting
dioxide experienced their warming to 0.9 degrees
largest jump in seven years, (0.5 degrees Celsius) from
discouraging scientists. now.
World carbon dioxide The trend is such that the
emissions are estimated to world would have to be
have risen 2.7 percent from lucky to keep warming to
2017 to 2018, according 1.8 degrees, let alone the
to three studies released lower goal, Le Quere said.
Wednesday from the Glob- China increased its emis-
al Carbon Project , an in- sions to 11.4 billion tons
ternational scientific col- (10.3 billion metric tons),
laboration of academics, while the U.S. jumped to a
governments and industry shade under 6 billion tons
that tracks greenhouse gas (5.4 metric tons). The Eu-
emissions. The calculations, ropean Union spewed 3.9
announced during nego- billion tons (3.5 billion met-
tiations to put the 2015 Paris ric tons) and India soared
climate accord into effect, to 2.9 billion tons (2.6 bil-
puts some of the landmark lion metric tons). Overall,
agreement's goals nearly In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, plumes of smoke rise from Europe's largest lignite the world is spewing about
out of reach, scientists said. power plant in Belchatow, central Poland. 1,300 tons (1,175 metric
"This is terrible news," said Associated Press tons) of carbon dioxide into
Andrew Jones, co-direc- the air every second.
tor of Climate Interactive, uses government and in- change researcher at the John Reilly, co-director Use of coal — the biggest
which models greenhouse dustry reports to come up University of East Anglia in of MIT's Joint Program on carbon emitter — is rising.
gas emissions and tem- with final emission figures England, said the increase the Science and Policy of And while countries are
peratures but was not part for 2017 and projections for is a surprising "reality check" Global Change, said the using more renewable fu-
of the research. "Every 2018 based on the four big- after a few years of smaller results aren't too surpris- els and trying to reduce
year that we delay serious gest polluters: China, the emission increases. But she ing because fossil fuels still carbon from electricity
climate action, the Paris United States, India and the also doesn't think the world account for 81 percent of production, emissions from
goals become more diffi- European Union. will return to the even larger the world's energy use. The cars and planes are steadi-
cult to meet." The U.S., which had been increases seen from 2003 to burning of coal, oil and ly increasing, Le Quere said.
The studies concluded that steadily decreasing its car- 2008. She believes unusual gas release carbon diox- Global carbon dioxide
this year the world would bon pollution, showed a factors are at play this year. ide, which warms the Earth emissions have increased 55
spew 40.9 billion tons (37.1 significant rise in emissions For the U.S., it was a com- . Reilly, who wasn't part of percent in the last 20 years,
billion metric tons) of car- — up 2.5 percent — for the bination of a hot summer the study, praised it as im- the calculations show. At
bon dioxide, up from 39.8 first time since 2013. China, and cold winter that re- pressive. the same time, Earth has
billion tons (36.2 billion met- the globe's biggest carbon quired more electricity use Global Carbon Project warmed on average about
ric tons) last year. The mar- emitter, saw its largest in- for heating and cooling. For chairman Rob Jackson, a two-thirds of a degree (0.38
gin of error is about one crease since 2011: 4.6 per- China, it was an economic Stanford University climate degrees Celsius), accord-
percentage point on either cent. stimulus that pushed coal- scientist, said he was dis- ing to the U.S. National
side. Study lead author Corinne powered manufacturing, couraged. Oceanic and Atmospheric
The Global Carbon Project Le Quere, a climate Le Quere said. The Paris accord set two Administration.q
Scientists: Capacity at U.S. nuclear waste dump a challenge

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) scientists and other experts Medicine released a pre- on a proposal for turning the plutonium is possible
— The lack of space at who are looking at the vi- liminary report on the U.S. the surplus plutonium into by working with a separate
the federal government's ability of disposing tons of government's plan, which fuel that could be used for batch of material. Howev-
only underground nuclear weapons-grade plutonium calls for diluting 34 metric commercial nuclear reac- er, citing a lack of informa-
waste repository is among at the desert location. tons of plutonium and ship- tors. That project, beset by tion, the scientists did not
several challenges identi- The National Academies of ping it to the Waste Isola- years of delays and cost study the agency's ability
fied Friday by a group of Sciences, Engineering, and tion Pilot Plant in southern overruns, was cancelled to scale up that process to
New Mexico. earlier this year.The review handle the 34 metric tons
The purpose of the work of the plan that calls for that are part of the nonpro-
would be to satisfy a non- shipping the plutonium to liferation agreement.
proliferation agreement New Mexico was request- If the plan were to be ap-
with Russia. ed by Congress. A final proved, the Energy Depart-
Another challenge, the sci- report from the National ment has estimated that it
entists say, would be get- Academies is expected would take 31 years to di-
ting officials in that country next summer. lute and dispose of all 34
to approve of the dilution The U.S. Energy Depart- metric tons. the Waste Iso-
of the materials. ment's Office of Environ- lation Pilot Plant.q
The pact between the two mental Management has
countries was initially based demonstrated that diluting