global warming
Image credits: Reproduction/Unsplash

CO2 emissions from fossil fuels will increase little in 2022

The International Energy Agency (IEA) guaranteed, this Wednesday (19), that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels, which cause the greenhouse effect, will grow by just 1% this year. The IEA considers that these emissions will represent 33,8 billion tons in 2022, just over 300 million tons more than in 2021.

This increase is noticeably lower than the increase of more than two billion tons that the world recorded last year, when the economy resumed after the pandemic was halted, the agency explained.

ADVERTISING

Emissions from coal will increase this year due to the war in Ukraine, which has caused the price of crude oil and natural gas to rise. However, these emissions will be offset by the increased use of renewable energy sources.

According to climate scientists, the world must cut CO2 emissions in half by 2030. The objective is to maintain hope of controlling the increase in global temperature to a maximum of 1,5ºC.

Approximately one million tons of CO2 were not released into the atmosphere thanks to these clean technologies.

ADVERTISING

“This means that CO2 emissions are growing this year much less quickly than feared – and that government policies are driving real structural changes,” explained IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

According to the IEA, solar and wind energy production grew by more than 700 terawatts in 2022, a record number.

The agency reported that China, the largest emitter of CO2, will remain at the same levels in 2022.

ADVERTISING

(With AFP)

Read also

Scroll up