Energy consumption and limits to global emissions of carbon dioxide: Australia and the world

Attempts to limit global emissions of the greenhouse gases and in particular carbon dioxide must take account of the rapidly increasing populations and the continuing increase in the per-capita consumption of fossil fuels in much of the world. For many countries to achieve the target of a 20% cut in carbon dioxide emissions based on 1988 consumptions, far larger per-capita reductions are necessary. For Australia the cut is approximately 40%. The increases in global emissions of carbon dioxide resulting from the attainment of only very modest per-capita consumptions by the developing countries will far outweigh any reductions achieved by the developed world.Support for this project from the Australian Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.