IEA delighted that CO2 emissions stalled in 2014. - The most recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on 13 March, indicates that energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide stalled in 2014 compared to levels recorded in 2013. Global emissions of carbon dioxide stood at 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014, unchanged from the preceding year. The IEA is delighted that this has occurred for the first time in 40 years and that the halt in emissions of greenhouse gas is not tied to an economic downturn. The world economy grew by an average of 3% in GDP in 2014. According to the IEA, efforts to mitigate climate change may be having a more pronounced effect on emissions than had previously been thought. “This gives me even more hope that humankind will be able to work together to combat climate change, the most important threat facing us today” , explained IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol, recently named to take over from Maria van der Hoeven as the next IEA Executive Director. The IEA attributes the halt in emissions growth to changing patterns of energy consumption in China, which is the biggest contributor to CO2 emissions in the world. In China, 2014 saw greater generation of electricity from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, instead of the more polluting coal plants. Coal consumption decreased by 2.9% last year and the share of fuel consumption by coal fell from 66%-64.2% in 2013. At the same time the share of nonfossil fuels increased from 9.8% to 11% and the Chinese government has set itself a 15% target for renewable energies' share of energy consumption by 2020. China recorded a decrease in its CO2 emissions from 2% last year, the first time this has occurred since 2001 according to estimates from the Bloomberg agency. Factors relating to the economic situation have, however, also contributed to this decrease, with the Chinese economy experiencing its lowest level of growth last year since 1990 (+7.4%), which has impacted on industrial activity and energy consumption. It should also be pointed out that China is providing itself with the means to achieve these goals in the renewable energies field: $89.5 billion was invested last year in these kinds of energies, which represents a third of all global investment in the sector. This is good news because up until now, China has accounted for 30% of all CO2 emissions. The IEA was also pleased to announce that in OECD economies, recent efforts to promote more sustainable growth - including greater energy efficiency and more renewable energy - are producing the desired effect of decoupling economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. This optimism, however, requires some qualification because global warming is only partly caused by CO2 emissions (about 50%) and which are only taken into account in international negotiations. Although the energy sector is the largest emitter of CO2, it is not the only sector responsible for global warming because agriculture, industry, transport, waste and heating also contribute to it. It should also be pointed out that the international community needs to reach a multilateral agreement to reduce the average level of global warming to 2°C. The next Global Climate Conference will take place in December 2015 in Paris. The goal of this conference will be to sign a global and binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHE). (Isabelle Lamberty)