In 2009, industrialized nations across the world took serious steps toward reducing their carbon footprints and reducing emissions as compared to 1990 levels. The global average decrease of seven percent was fueled mainly by the economic crisis and its lack of energy demand. However, despite this heartening improvement, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA) has said that this gain may have been nullified by increased emissions from both China and India.
China’s emissions grew nine percent last year despite the country’s continued increase into alternative energies. For the fifth year in a row, China doubled both its wind and solar capacity; but these improvements could not keep up with its rapidly growing industrial sector. China’s current emissions are now forty percent higher than its 1990 levels. India too is unable to keep pace with its growing emissions, causing a six percent increase over 2009 emission levels.
Overall though, the average CO2 emissions per person in fast developing countries like China and India is still lower than that in the heavily industrialized nations. China averaged 6 tonnes/person and India 1.4 tonnes/person while the United States held an average of 17 tonnes/person and the Netherlands 10 tonnes/person. Despite the setbacks it’s facing, the Chinese government is still taking an aggressive stance on clean, alternative energy sources. Hopefully, when 2010 draws to a close, the Chinese will have been able to get growing emissions under control and begin the long process of reducing those emissions once again.