6 October 2010: In efforts to inform decision making at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a highlights version of its global “CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion.”

The report opens by noting that in 2008, carbon dioxide emissions of developing counties surpassed those of developed countries for the first time, and that carbon dioxide emissions of developed countries fell below 1990 levels. The report estimates carbon dioxide emissions by country from 1971-2008, using the revised 1996 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories. The IEA notes, however, that its statistics may differ from those used by the UNFCCC because the report looks only at energy-related carbon dioxide, and not other GHGs. The highlights report also contains indicators on: CO2/GDP; CO2 per capita; CO2/total primary energy supply (TPES); CO2/kWh; and CO2 emissions from marine and aviation bunker fuels.[CO2 Emissions Highlights] [Excel File of Statistics]