Despite emission reductions by the US, Russia, and some other nations, worldwide anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions accelerated at an annual rate of 2.2% from 2000 to 2010 and reached a record high of 49 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010, according to the fifth assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). By comparison, emissions grew at an annual average rate of 1.6% during 1970–2000. Carbon dioxide equivalent is a unit of measurement used to convert the heat-trapping effects of other greenhouse gases such as methane.
A separate report released on 6 May by the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) says that the effects of climate change are already being felt in the US. Effects include longer summers, rising tides, more prolonged heat waves, heavier downpours, and regional changes in the varieties of plant and bird species.
Without any further policy actions to control emissions...
