Global pollution and energy-related CO2 emissions increased in 2022, by 0.9%, to reach a new record high, but lower than expected thanks to the rise of green energy and technologies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Thursday 2 March.
“The risk of unbridled growth in emissions due to increased reliance on coal in the context of the energy crisis has not materialized, as the rise of solar and wind energy, electric cars, energy efficiency and other factors have slowed the rise in CO2,” the IEA said on Thursday, March 2, in an analysis based on national public data.
It is clear that energy-related emissions (more than three-quarters of total greenhouse gases) remain on an “unsustainable growth path”, fuelling climate disruption, the IEA warns, calling for stronger action. In 2022, CO2 emissions from energy sources grew by 0.9%, reaching a record of more than 36.8 billion tons, the report said.
Fortunately, 550 million tons of CO2 were also avoided by new low-carbon energy infrastructure. Last year, renewables accounted for 90% of the growth in electricity generation.
“The impacts of the energy crisis did not generate the massive growth in emissions that we feared, and this is thanks to the remarkable growth in renewables, electric vehicles, heat pumps and energy efficiency technologies. Without this, the growth in CO2 emissions would have been almost three times higher,” commented IEA Director Fatih Birol.
“However, emissions from fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) continue to grow, hampering efforts to meet global climate goals,” he added, urging the companies concerned to act.
“International and national fossil fuel companies are earning record revenues and must take their share of responsibility, consistent with their public climate commitments. They must review their strategies in the direction of a real reduction of their emissions,” he stressed.
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