Global CO2 Emissions Reach All-Time High, Rising More Than 5 Percent in 2010 to Close Out Past 20 Years

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reached an all-time high in 2010, rising 45% in the past 20 years. Rising rapidly between 1990 and 2010, global atmospheric CO2 levels totaled 33 billion metric tons last year, according to a report published by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.