The IEA’s Global Energy Review 2021 predicts carbon dioxide emissions would rise to 33 billion tonnes this year, up 1.5 billion tonnes from 2020 levels as global economics pour stimulus cash into fossil fuels to aid recovery from the COVID-19 recession.
The leap will be second only to the massive rebound 10 years ago after the financial crisis, and will put climate hopes out of reach unless governments act quickly, the IEA has warned.
The use of coal in Asia is expected to be key: the IEA says it will push global demand up by 4.5%, taking it close to the global peak seen in 2014.
However, renewable energy is also booming, with green sources set to supply 30% of electricity this year.
Coal ain’t cool
The expected rise in coal use dwarves that of renewables by almost 60%, despite accelerating demand for solar, wind and hydro power. More than 80% of the projected growth in coal demand in 2021 is set to come from Asia, led by China. Coal use in the United States and the European Union is also on course to increase but will remain well below pre-crisis levels, according to IEA.
Top of the list
Carbon dioxide is the leading greenhouse gas heating the planet. There are other gases that are much more powerful, but they are less abundant.
Did you know?
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere have scored since measurements began in 1958, at the pristine Mauna Loa mountaintop observatory in Hawaii. During the first measurement it stood at 316 parts per million (ppm) in 958.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 415 parts per million on May 2020.
Picture Credit : Google
