The current level of CO2 emissions would be unprecedented in the history of the planet. According to a recent study, we are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate nine to ten times higher than the greenhouse gases emitted during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, which occurred around 56 million years ago and represented one of the darkest periods for life on Earth. According to researchers, we are only 140 years away from the moment when CO2 levels will set new records, with alarming and still poorly understood consequences for life on the planet. The situation is therefore dire — there is no point in denying it — yet a few positive signals are beginning to emerge. A British study, for example, has shown that efforts to reduce emissions and tackle climate change in developed economies are starting to bear the hoped-for fruit.

Less CO2 over the past 10 years

Researchers at the Tyndall centre for Climate change research at the British University of East Anglia (Uea) analysed the emissions trend produced by eighteen developed economies, responsible for 28 per cent of global emissions. The study found that in these nations — which include the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Germany — emissions fell significantly between 2005 and 2015, at an average of 2.2 per cent per year.

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A renewable future

The findings of the research, published in Nature climate change, show that the reduction in CO2 emissions is primarily due to the greater use of renewable energy at the expense of fossil fuels — which are, according to the UN Climate Panel, "the main cause of global warming over the past 50 years".

The role of the economic crisis

Scientists explain, however, that the reduction in polluting emissions could also be a consequence of the economic crisis, which led to lower growth in gross domestic product.

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Climate action

It is nonetheless significant to note how CO2 emissions have fallen most in those countries that have undertaken concrete energy and climate initiatives aimed at countering the advance of climate change. What the eighteen countries examined have in common is precisely the adoption of policies that encourage energy efficiency.

It's only the beginning

The study therefore highlights the efforts under way in numerous countries to reduce their environmental impact, yet it is clear that such efforts must be considerably intensified if the rise in global temperatures is to be kept below the two degrees set by the Paris Agreement. "Our findings suggest that policies to address climate change are helping to reduce emissions in many countries," said Corinne Le Quéré, a researcher at the Tyndall centre for Climate who led the study. "This is good news, but it is only the beginning — there is still a long way to go to reduce global emissions to nearly zero, which is the level needed to halt climate change. The increase in renewable energy around the world is positive but alone it is not enough; fossil fuels must be abandoned."