NEW YORK. Carbon As a result of a rise in air travel following the pandemic and an increase in the use of coal as a cheap energy source, 2022 saw the highest global emissions of carbon dioxide since records began being kept in 1900.
As reported by the International Energy Agency on Thursday, global emissions of climate-warming gas resulting from energy production increased by 0.9% in 2022, reaching 36.8 gigatons. (According to NASA, one gigaton roughly equals 10,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers.)
When we burn oil, coal, or natural gas to generate electricity for our cars, planes, homes, and factories, we release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If this gas were released into the atmosphere, it would be a heat trap, hastening global warming.
Last year’s total carbon dioxide emissions were higher than usual because of extreme weather. Droughts decreased the amount of water available for hydropower, which increased the need to burn fossil fuels. Also, heat waves increase the need for electricity.
Climate scientists have called Thursday’s report concerning and have warned that drastic cuts in emissions from the world’s energy users are necessary to mitigate global warming’s worst effects.
“Any emissions growth — even 1% is a failure,” said Rob Jackson, professor of earth system science at Stanford University and chairman of the Global Carbon Project. “Expansion is beyond our means. Stasis is an expense we cannot afford. Reduce spending or risk global anarchy. Any year coal emissions rise is bad for human health and the environment.
Coal-based carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.6% in 2017.
Coal-based carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.6% in 2017. According to the IEA, high natural gas prices were exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting many communities, particularly in Asia, to switch from natural gas to coal.
Air travel is responsible for roughly half of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from burning oil, which rose 2.5% as air travel increased worldwide.
Since 1900, IEA data shows that annual global emissions have increased, and this trend has accelerated. During the 2020 pandemic, however, travel virtually ground to a halt.
While 2017’s record-breaking emissions were noteworthy, they came in below what scientists had predicted. The IEA estimates that an additional 550 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided due to the widespread use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, and heat pumps.
Few emissions were released into the atmosphere because of strict pandemic measures and slow economic growth in China. Furthermore, the IEA reported that Europe’s wind and solar power generation surpassed gas and nuclear power generation.
The growth in CO2 emissions would have been nearly three times as high without clean energy.
The growth in CO2 emissions would have been nearly three times as high without clean energy, according to IEA director and statement author Fatih Birol.
Despite this, emissions from fossil fuels continue to rise, undermining global climate goals. Since they have publicly committed to helping achieve climate goals, the world’s largest fossil fuel companies should do what they can to achieve them, especially in light of their record profits.
John Sterman, director of the Sloan Sustainability Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has said that while emissions growth remains concerning, a reversal that would help achieve the climate goals that nations have committed to remains possible.
Sterman argued that to mitigate climate change, countries should eliminate their reliance on coal and instead invest in renewable energy sources, increase energy efficiency, electrify industry and transportation, establish a steep price for carbon emissions, curb their use of fossil fuels, and plant more trees.
To accomplish everything he listed would be “a massive, massive undertaking,” but it was necessary.
SOURCE – (AP)
