Higher energy demand drove up global CO2 emissions in 2018, hitting a new record of 33Gt, an International Energy Agency, IEA, report has revealed.
According to the IEA ‘Global Energy & CO2 Status Report’, energy demand worldwide grew by 2.3 percent in 2018, its fastest pace this decade. "Driven by a robust global economy and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world," global energy consumption increased at "nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010."
This growth in energy consumption rates, the report explained, led to an increase of demand for all fuels, driven by natural gas accounting for 45 percent of the rise in energy consumption, even as solar and wind posted double-digit growth, with solar alone increasing by 31 percent.
"Still, that was not fast enough to meet higher electricity demand around the world that also drove up coal use," it said, adding that fossil fuels reached nearly 70 percent of the growth in demand for the second year running.
"As a result, global energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 1.7 percent to 33.1 Gigatonnes, Gt, with coal use in power generation alone surpassing 10 Gt and accounting for a third of total emissions."
While the IEA report noted that the increased use of renewables in 2018 had an impact, avoiding 215 Mt of CO2 emissions, coal-fired power generation continued to be the single largest emitter, accounting for 30 percent of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, with CO2 emissions reaching a "historic high".
The agency, for the first time, assessed the impact of fossil fuel use on global temperature increases. It found that CO2 emitted from coal combustion was responsible for over 0.3 C of the 1 C increase in global average annual surface temperatures above pre-industrial levels.
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"This makes coal the single largest source of global temperature increase," the report added.
The IEA works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond, with a focus on four main areas: energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and global engagement.
The world is looking to developed countries to lead the way to a low carbon future. But they are not curbing their reduction in fossil fuel consumption quickly enough.
In the case of the United States, emissions are headed in the wrong direction altogether. Energy use in the U.S. has increased over the last five years, reversing a decade of decline. Emissions are expected to increase in the US in 2018—a 2.5 percent increase between 2017 and 2018—in part due to weather (greater heating and cooling demands) and increases in oil use due to low oil prices. Emissions declines in the E.U. have slowed recently. Between 2017 and 2018, the EU saw a decline of emissions of only 0.7 percent.
At the same time, emissions growth is not slowing in other parts of the world, and in many cases is accelerating. Between 2017 and 2018, CO2 emissions climbed by 6.3 percent in India (a rate three times higher than last year’s) and by 4.7 percent in China (compared with last year’s rate of increase of 3.5 percent). The rest of the world’s emissions have also been growing on average, with CO2 emissions 1.8 percent higher in 2018 than 2017.
There are bright spots. Almost 20 countries, contributing 20 percent of global CO2 emissions, have decoupled fossil CO2 emissions and economic growth over the past decade.