An Australian report released on Tuesday stated that global warming is progressing more rapidly than anticipated due to increased greenhouse gas emissions since 2000, driven by rapid economic growth. According to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), emissions from burning fossil fuels have been rising by around 3 percent annually since 2000, compared to 1 percent in the 1990s. CSIRO scientist Mike Raupach explained that the main reason for the faster growth in emissions is the higher carbon output per unit of wealth generated worldwide. This has led to climate change happening at a quicker pace than previously forecasted. Raupach collaborated with a team of experts from the CSIRO's Global Carbon Project to assess global carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption. The report discovered that there was a significant increase in global carbon emissions from nearly 6 billion metric tons in 1995 to almost 8 billion metric tons in 2005. According to Raupach, as countries progress through industrial development, they go through a phase of high and often inefficient use of fossil fuels. Although efficiencies improve along the way, they eventually plateau. Developed countries like Australia and the US have reached this plateau, while developing countries like China are still in the intensive development phase. Since the industrial revolution, the US and Europe have been responsible for more than half of global emissions over the past two centuries, whereas China has contributed less than 8 percent, as per the CSIRO report. The report stated that the 50 least-developed nations contributed less than 0.5 percent of global emissions over a span of 200 years. It was noted that on average, each person in Australia and the United States emits more than 5 tons of carbon per year, compared to 1 ton per year in China. Raupach highlighted the importance of considering both current and historical emissions when negotiating global emissions reductions. He emphasized the need for emissions reductions to be both feasible and fair to be effective. The CSIRO report discovered that Australia has some of the highest per capita emissions in the world due to its heavy reliance on fossil-fuel generated electricity and the use of cars and trucks for transportation. Raupach stated that there is still a long way to go in reducing emissions to stabilize CO2 levels, and Australia's energy efficiency improvements have not kept pace with other developed countries. Australia, like the United States, has not signed the Kyoto Protocol and instead calls for a global scheme to replace it, citing the exclusion of major developing nations like India and China from binding targets in the treaty's first phase until 2012. China is the second largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, following the United States. Discussions have not yet begun in earnest regarding the next phase of the Kyoto Protocol, as India and China are strongly against mandatory targets and are requesting that wealthy countries, especially the United States, make significant cuts in emissions.