2012: Worldwide CO2 emissions reach 20.7 tons per person per year - Expiration of the Kyoto Protocol - Oil demand outpaces production in non-OPEC countries
According to the IEA, worldwide CO2 emissions will reach a level of 20.7 tons per person annually.
2012 also marks the year when the Kyoto Protocol is set to expire.
World oil demand will continue to rise, and in 2012 demand will outpace production in non-OPEC countries. When this point is reached, demand will either be satisfied by increased production in OPEC countries, or the price will continue to rise. Analysts predict that pressure on world oil supply will continue to increase in the foreseeable future, due especially to skyrocketing demand in China and India. The date of "peak oil production" (after which production begins an irreversible decline) is unknown, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office places it somewhere between now and 2040.