The 2016 global carbon budget released on 14 November 2016, shows that while a three year reduced growth in fossil fuel carbon emissions is good news, South Africa still has twice the global average of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person, compelling the country to increase its mitigation options and continue enhancing its understanding of the Southern Ocean.

South Africa sits on the edge of one of the most important carbon sinks, the Southern Ocean - that helps slow down climate change by absorbing part of the carbon emissions to the atmosphere - and the CSIR continues to make significant investments in understanding the Southern Ocean and filling some of the observation gaps in the global carbon network. This work is led by the CSIR's Dr Pedro Monteiro who is also one of the co-authors of the report published in Earth System Science Data today. According to the report, 2015 is the third year in a row where global emissions are below 1% growth, despite global gross domestic product exceeding 3% growth.

"South Africa's ocean science is already actively contributing to understanding and assessing the changing status of this important CO2 sink," he says. However, he believes that this contribution needs to grow faster both because of the regional implications and uncertainties about the climate sensitivity of the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean as well as because it serves as a platform for the advanced scientific and technological skills needed by the South African economy to achieve its development objectives.

The CSIR is also improving the coordination of observations across ocean, land and atmosphere through the South Africa Integrated Carbon Observatory Network (SA-ICON) to best address the quality of information needed to assess the country's mitigation objectives and development trade-off risks.

"South Africa's diplomacy needs to continue to show global leadership in steering the planet to the ambition of limiting warming beyond the damaging 1.5°C," says Monteiro who is also a chief scientist and Oceanographer at the CSIR.

This is echoed by Prof Corinne Le Quéré, Director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia who led the data analysis, "This break in emissions rise is a great help but it is not enough". She says that a further rapid decrease is necessary.

This launch comes mid-way through the 22nd session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties taking place in Morocco. At this meeting, parties will begin preparations for entry into force of the Paris Agreement reached at the previous meeting. One of the key points of this agreement, contained in Article 2, seeks to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

This media release is part of the Global Carbon Budget 2016, the annual update by the Global Carbon Project. It is based on the analyses published here:

• Le Quéré et al. (2016) Global Carbon Budget 2016. Earth System Science Data http://www.earth-syst-sci-data-discuss.net/essd-2016-51/
   

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• Prior to embargo: ESSD paper and Infographics can be requested for media purposes to press@uea.ac.uk
• After embargo: ESSD paper is open access available at link above
   

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