IEA: CO2 emissions falling, Copenhagen still crucial

Global GHG emissions could fall by 3% this year, but $3 trillion still required to tackle climate change

By Tom Nicholls The recession has created an opportunity to stabilise greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions at a level that could prevent dangerous climate change, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). But the implementation of greener energy policies and the success of the UN climate-change process remain vital, says executive director Nobuo Tanaka. The financial crisis has deferred investment in polluting technologies, the IEA says in a special early excerpt from its World Energy Outlook 2009 publication. As a result, CO2 emissions could fall in 2009 by as much as 3% – a steeper decline than at any time in the last 40 years. With the right policies in place, this could put the world