2016 was a new year of stable CO₂ emissions

For third consecutive years, global CO2-energy emissions have remained stable around 31.5 GtCO2. The stagnation observed in 2016 stemmed from both weak economic growth, reductions in energy intensity and changes in the fuel mix, and in particular the further decline of coal demand in China and the USA.
The reduced use of coal in China within its energy mix enabled the country to continue to stabilize its CO2 energy-related emissions which commenced in 2014.
The USA also recorded a drop of its emissions thanks to its ongoing move from coal to the less polluting natural gas. However, the 2016 reduction was half that of 2015.
Because of their challenging economic situation, Brazil and Venezuela have been among the largest contributors to CO2 emissions reduction, while the UK performed well thanks to the fall of its coal demand.
Conversely, the countries with coal intensive use such as India, Indonesia and Turkey have driven their emissions upward.