• From 1990 to 2007 US emissions increased by 20%; Canada’s emissions by 29% and Australia’s by 42%.
• Among industrialised countries with Kyoto Protocol targets, emissions decreased by 3 per cent.
• For the Kyoto group excluding economies in transition, emissions increased by 4 per cent.

• The UK discovered natural gas in the early 1990s, allowing it to shut down dirtier coal plants;
• Germany saw emissions drop through the 1990s due to economic collapse in the former East Germany.

In addition, in some EU countries like Luxembourg the entire reduction in emissions has been through buying offsets. Thus, while it may look like Luxembourg’s emissions are on the decline, the real emissions cuts are happening beyond its borders. Luxembourg’s domestic emissions have in fact increased over the years.

Charts 1 and 2 show how CO2 emissions have grown—or in a few cases declined—in a range of Annex I countries. Chart 1 shows overall changes from 1990 to 2007; chart 2 shows the one-year change from 2006 to 2007. Among major economies, Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and the US lead the pack for emissions increases.

Charts 3 and 4 show sector-wise emissions increases and decreases for all Annex I countries (excluding economies in transition). The same trends seen for Australia, Canada, Japan and the US—namely, that energy industry and transportation emissions are rising rapidly—can be seen for Annex I as a whole.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer commented on the new data in an official release. “The continuing growth of emissions from industrialised countries remains worrying,” he said. “The numbers for 2007 underscore, once again, the urgent need to seal a comprehensive, fair and effective climate change deal in Copenhagen in December.”

He’s right.