A new study shows greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and cement production will reach a record high this year, fueled by rapid growth of industries in China.

The Global Carbon Project forecast a 2.3 percent rise in world carbon dioxide emissions to 37.0 billion tonnes in 2014, and warned that if the pattern continued, it would be difficult to meet targets for controlling climate change.

Like Us on Facebook

"A break in current emission trends is urgently needed," said the report, which appeared in the journal Nature Geoscience.

In 2013, emissions blamed for rising global temperatures reached 36.1 billion tonnes, up by 2.3 percent.

The report said that at the current emission rates the world was falling behind its goal to keep average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

Since the Industrial Revolution, temperatures have already risen 0.85 C, according to the study put together by experts from Australia, Austria, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

To limit global warming to below 2C, global emissions should not exceed 1,200 billion tonnes in the next 30 years, the report estimated.

"If this were a bank statement it would say our credit is running out," warned Dave Reay, a University of Edinburgh professor who specializes in carbon management.

The Global Carbon Project singled out China as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

It said that this year emissions from Chinese industries would climb 4.5 percent to 10.4 billion tonnes, compared with 5.4 billion from the U.S. and 3.4 billion from the European Union.

The data show China produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the U.S. and the EU combined.

But one of the authors of the study, Corinne Le Quere, emphasized that although China topped the list of greenhouse gas emitters, the problem is a global one.

The report comes ahead of the September 23 United Nations climate summit in New York.

According to the summit website, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked leaders attending the gathering to "bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilize political will" to pave the way for an international agreement to be finalized in Paris in 2015 on cutting emissions.