by Mairi Jay

The International Energy Agency, an organisation charged with advising its member states (Australia, NZ, Canada, the US and the European Union) about energy policy and security, has just issued its conclusion that CO2 emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, and that 80% of projected 2020 emissions from the energy sector are already locked in (i.e. they involve energy generation from fossil fuels that are already existing or under construction).  An IEA spokesperson suggests that “This significant increase in CO2 emissions and the locking in of future emissions due to infrastructure investments represent a serious setback to our hopes of limiting the global rise in temperature to no more than 2°C”   (http://www.iea.org/index_info.asp?id=1959).