BRICs – their impact on global environment

The BRIC countries have been in a process of fast economic growth for more than a decade and the growth seems to continue. Economic growth is often linked to the use of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases. The accumulation in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases contribute to global warming and the risk for climate change. The objective is to study the impact on global environment of the use of fossil fuels in the BRICs. The impact is limited to carbon dioxide. The historical development of economic growth and carbon dioxide outlet in the individual BRIC countries is reviewed and possible scenarios for the future are discussed to find out the impact of a business as usual scenario on the global environment in the future. The development in the BRICs is compared with the World and the developed regions of the US and EU. The overall conclusion is that the BRICs will be responsible for a major part of the carbon dioxide outlet in the future. The BRICs may, without any further climate policies and programs, be a threat to global environment. There is a significant potential to reduce the carbon dioxide outlet but it is not likely to happen unless the BRICs face a dramatic climate change. However, the position of the individual BRICs is different. Brazil seems to be in the best position to limit the carbon dioxide outlet in the future while China and India compete about the worst position