China burned less coal and generated more electricity from renewable sources last year, which helped halt the rise in global carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector.
Emissions of carbon dioxide were flat at 32.3 billion tonnes last year, as they were in 2013, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported yesterday.
It ended steady gains over the past four decades except in years with an economic downturn.
“This is both a welcome surprise and a significant one,” IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said in a statement.
“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.”
The IEA, which is based in France, and advises governments of developed nations, said the halt in emissions growth was linked to greener patterns of energy consumption in China – the top carbon emitter ahead of the United States – and in developed nations.
“In China, [last year] saw greater generation of electricity from renewable sources, such as hydropower, solar and wind, and less burning of coal,” it said.
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