From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

MARCH 9, 2022

By Paul Homewood

CO2 emissions still growing, say IEA:

Global CO₂ emissions from energy combustion and industrial processes1 rebounded in 2021 to reach their highest ever annual level. A 6% increase from 2020 pushed emissions to 36.3 gigatonnes (Gt), an estimate based on the IEA’s detailed region-by-region and fuel-by-fuel analysis, drawing on the latest official national data and publicly available energy, economic and weather data.

The Covid-19 pandemic had far-reaching impacts on energy demand in 2020, reducing global CO₂ emissions by 5.2%. However, the world has experienced an extremely rapid economic recovery since then, driven by unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus and a fast – although uneven – roll-out of vaccines. The recovery of energy demand in 2021 was compounded by adverse weather and energy market conditions, which led to more coal being burnt despite renewable power generation registering its largest ever annual growth. 

Emissions increased by almost 2.1 Gt from 2020 levels. This puts 2021 above 2010 as the largest ever year-on-year increase in energy-related CO₂ emissions in absolute terms. The rebound in 2021 more than reversed the pandemic-induced decline in emissions of 1.9 Gt experienced in 2020. CO₂ emissions in 2021 rose to around 180 megatonnes (Mt) above the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

The 6% increase in CO₂ emissions in 2021 was in line with the jump in global economic output of 5.9%. This marks the strongest coupling of CO₂ emissions with Gross domestic product (GDP) growth since 2010, when global emissions rebounded by 6.1% while economic output grew by 5.1% as the world emerged from the Global Financial Crisis.

https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-co2-emissions-in-2021-2

Although a large rise was inevitable following the lockdowns of 2020, the significant fact is that emissions are higher than in 2019. Given that the global economy still has not fully recovered from the pandemic, we should expect further increases in emissions this year.

via Watts Up With That?

March 10, 2022

CO2 Emissions Hit Record High in 2021