06 Mar Global emissions rise slowing as clean energy plans accelerate
New findings suggest that global energy-related carbon emissions increased slower in 2023 compared to 2022, despite a rise in total energy demand growth, due mainly to the ongoing rate of solar, wind, nuclear and electric vehicle development. Presented by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the annual report on global energy-related emissions, included a new area called the Clean Energy Market Monitor, focusing on clean energy deployment.
According to the latest data, global energy-related carbon emissions increased by 410 million tonnes, the equivalent of a 1.1% increase in 2023. This rise was lower than the previous year’s increase of 490 million tonnes. The IEA explained that a considerable shortfall in hydropower, related to severe droughts in notable locations like China and the US, forced nations to explore fossil fuel alternatives, contributing to over 40% of the emission increases during 2023. Despite these challenges, the report suggests without the increase in clean energy technologies, rising carbon emissions worldwide over the last few years would have been three times larger.
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, suggests that the global pandemic, the energy crisis and geopolitical instabilities all could destabilise plans to build a cleaner and more secure energy system. Despite these disruptive events, many economies continue with the clean energy transition and tackling their emissions, even with global energy demand increasing in the last year.
In the last year, advanced economies experienced a record decline in energy-related carbon emissions despite an ongoing rise in GDP. This reduction was thanks to the accelerated development of renewables, coal-to-gas switching, energy efficiency improvements and reducing industrial production levels.
The IEA report emphasises the critical role of clean energy technologies in limiting the rise of fossil fuel demand. Since 2019, clean energy deployment has exceeded fossil fuels by two times, providing a pathway to increase the transition towards greener alternatives shortly. Furthermore, last year represented the first time that over half of electricity generation in advanced economies derived from low-emission sources, such as renewables and nuclear energy.
While clean energy deployment remains prominent in advanced economies and China, the report highlights the need for more international collaboration to enhance investment and support clean energy adoption in developing economies. According to the report by the IEA, the clean energy investment required in developing nations will need to be tripled by at least a figure of $2.8 trillion within the next ten years.
In China, while there has been considerable progress with clean energy development, emissions increased rapidly in 2023 due to a significant decline in hydropower output and the economic recovery of the nation post-pandemic.
Strong GDP growth in India resulted in a steep rise in emissions, driven by a relatively poor monsoon season impacting hydropower production. Despite these challenges, per capita emissions in India were lower than the global average.
Faith Birol explains that the commitments confirmed at COP28 indicate what nations need to do to ensure emissions are on a downward trajectory. Birol emphasises further efforts are required to ensure emerging and developing economies can accelerate clean energy investments. In the last climate summit, over 100 countries agreed to maintain the 1.5C pathway of the Paris Agreement by tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling the annual efficiency improvement rates by 2030.
No Comments