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Despite recording its lowest GDP growth — 4 per cent — in a decade in 2012, India belched 2 billion tonnes of carbon di-oxide into the atmosphere during the year, 6.8 per cent more than in 2011. That level of greenhouse-gas emissions made India the fourth largest emitter last year, after China, the US and the European Union (EU) notes a report on Trends in Global CO2 Emissions, 2013. The report was brought out by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The report cites the increase in emissions was primarily caused by a 10 per cent rise in coal consumption. Coal-based power production accounted for almost 70 per cent of all of India’s coal-related CO2 emissions and grew by about 13 per cent in 2012, the highest annual growth ever.