Carbon Emissions Rising

Global carbon emissions are currently rising by 2.5% annually.
Image: NASA

Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by two and a half times over the last half-decade. According to the Global Carbon Project, emissions had been rising by 1 percent before the year 2000, but since 2000 they have accelerated to 2.5 percent. Some researchers believe that the cause rests with the high cost of oil; this has precipitated an increase in the use of charcoal, and charcoal contributes more carbon pollution than oil. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, a pollutant directly linked to global warming.

--BBC has more information