The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a record high last year as energy demand and coal use increased, mainly in Asia.
Energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 1.7 per cent to 33.1 billion tonnes from the previous year, the highest rate of growth since 2013, with the power sector accounting for almost two-thirds of this growth, according to IEA estimates.
The IEA reports natural gas emerged as the fuel of choice, posting the biggest gains and accounting for 45 per cent of the rise in energy consumption.
Gas demand growth was especially strong in the United States and China.
Demand for all fuels increased, with fossil fuels meeting nearly 70 per cent of the growth for the second year running.
Solar and wind generation grew at double-digit pace, with solar alone increasing by 31 per cent.
Still, that was not fast enough to meet higher electricity demand around the world that also drove up coal use.
The United States’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions grew by 3.1 per cent in 2018, reversing a decline a year earlier, while China’s emissions rose by 2.5 per cent and India’s by 4.5 per cent.
Europe’s emissions fell by 1.3 per cent and Japan’s fell for the fifth year running.
Carbon dioxide emissions are the primary cause of global average temperature rise, which countries are seeking to curb to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.
These findings are part of the IEA’s latest assessment of global energy consumption and energy-related CO2 emissions for 2018.
The Global Energy & CO2 Status Report provides a high-level and up-to-date view of energy markets, including latest available data for oil, natural gas, coal, wind, solar, nuclear power, electricity, and energy efficiency.
For the first time, the IEA assessed the impact of fossil fuel use on the increase in global temperature and found that CO2 emitted from coal consumption was responsible for over 0.3 degrees Celsius of the 1.0°C rise in global average temperature since pre-industrial times.
Global energy demand grew by 2.3 per cent in 2018, nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a strong global economy and higher heating and cooling demand in some parts of the world, the IEA said.
“We have seen an extraordinary increase in global energy demand in 2018, growing at its fastest pace this decade,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.
“Last year can also be considered another golden year for gas, but despite major growth in renewable energy, global emissions are still rising, demonstrating once again that more urgent action is needed on all fronts,” he added.
“This demonstrated once again that more urgent action is needed on all fronts, developing all clean energy solutions, curbing emissions, improving efficiency, and spurring investments and innovation, including in carbon capture, utilisation and storage.”
Almost a fifth of the increase in global energy demand came from higher demand for heating and cooling as average winter and summer temperatures in some regions approached or exceeded historical records.
Cold snaps drove demand for heating and, more significantly, hotter summer temperatures pushed up demand for cooling.
By country, China, the US, and India together accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the rise in energy demand.
Global gas demand increased at its fastest rate since 2010, up 4.6 per cent from a year earlier, driven by higher demand as switching from gas to coal increased.
Demand for energy from renewable sources rose by four per cent but the use of renewable energy needs to expand much more quickly to meet long-term climate goals, the report said.
Oil demand grew by 1.3 per cent in 2018, while coal consumption was up 0.7 per cent as higher demand in Asia outpaced declines everywhere else.
“Coal-to-gas switching avoided almost 60 million tonnes of coal demand, with the transition to less carbon-intensive natural gas helping to avert 95 million tonnes of CO2 emissions,” the IEA said.
“Without this coal-to-gas switch, the increase in emissions would have been more than 15 per cent greater,” it added.
