Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/751476
ByKarlRitter The Associated Press MARRAKECH, MOROCCO Global temperatures are soaring toward a record high this year, the U.N. weather agency said Mon- day, while another report showed emissions of a key global warming gas have flattened out in the past three years. The reports injected a mix of gloom and hope at U.N. climate talks in Mar- rakech this week. "Another year. Another record. The high tempera- tures we saw in 2015 are set to be beaten in 2016," said Petteri Taalas, the head of the World Meteorological Organization. WMO's preliminary data through October showed world temperatures, boosted by the El Nino phe- nomenon, are 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahr- enheit) above pre-indus- trial levels. That's getting close to the limit set by the global cli- mate agreement adopted in Paris last year. It calls for limiting the temperature rise since the industrial revolution to 2 degrees C or even 1.5 degrees C. WMO said 16 of the 17 hottest years have occurred this century. The only ex- ception was 1998, which was also an El Nino year. Taalas said parts of Arc- tic Russia saw temperatures soaring 6-7 degrees C above average. "We are used to measuring temperature re- cords in fractions of a de- gree, and so this is differ- ent," he said. Environmental groups and climate scientists said the report underscores the need to quickly reduce the emissions of carbon diox- ide and other greenhouse gases blamed for warming the planet. Another report released Monday delivered some pos- itive news, showing global CO2 emissions have flat- tened out in the past three years. However, the authors of the study cautioned it's unclear whether the slow- down, mainly caused by de- clining coal use in China, is a permanent trend or a tem- porary blip. "It is far too early to pro- claim we have reached a peak," said co-author Glen Peters, a senior researcher at the Center for Interna- tional Climate and Environ- mental Research in Oslo. The study, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, says global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry is pro- jected to grow by just 0.2 percent this year. That would mean emis- sions have leveled off at about 36 billion metric tons in the past three years even though the world econ- omy has expanded, suggest- ing the historical bonds be- tween economic gains and emissions growth may have been severed. "This could be the turn- ing point we have hoped for," said David Ray, a pro- fessor of carbon manage- ment at the University of Edinburgh, who was not in- volved with the study. "To tackle climate change those bonds must be broken and here we have the first signs that they are at least start- ing to loosen." Chinese emissions were down 0.7 percent in 2015 and are projected to fall 0.5 percent in 2016, the re- searchers said, though not- ing that Chinese energy sta- tistics have been plagued by inconsistencies. Peters said it remains un- clear whether the Chinese slowdown was due to a re- structuring of the economy or a sign of economic insta- bility. CLIMATE TALKS 2016 set to break heat record despite slowdown in emissions Paid advertisement 522 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff (530) 529-1654 www.lesschwab.com WINTERDRIVINGTIREGUIDE DRY - RAIN - SNOW - ICE Eclipse STARTING AT P155/80SR-13 PASSENGER $ 64 99 Superior handling and safety 21 st Century Entertainment Callforinformation and pricing 530-527-3456 Processdonelocal Convert your VHS to DVD Other Media & Digitizing available ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. THANK YOUFORSUPPORTING N EWS D AILY REDBLU FF TEHAMA COUNTY H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 NEWSPAPERS NIE Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 737-5047 to find out how. ~SILVERLevelSponsors~ Airport Auto Repair Bretney-Sutterfield California Walnut Company Casa Serenity Dudley's Excavating, Inc. Edward Jones, Corning Branch Etzler Financial & Insurance Greenwaste Of Tehama Gumm's Optical Shoppe Lepage Company Modern Cleaners North Main Automotive Olive City Tax Professionals Placer Title Company Dr. Shoff Orthodontics Tehama Co. Dept. Of Ed. Dignity Health St. Elizabeth Community Hospital John Wheeler Logging, Inc. Walmart Wing Solar & Wood Energy ~ BRONZE Level Sponsors ~ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B