In 2023, the world witnessed a significant rise in energy-related CO2 emissions, reaching an unprecedented level. Despite this, the rate of growth decelerated compared to preceding years. This development can be attributed to the ongoing proliferation of clean technologies. This information was provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In terms of specifics, the CO2 emissions from energy sources experienced a growth rate of 1.1% in 2023. This translated to an increase of 410 million tonnes, thus hitting a new record of 37.4 billion tonnes. However, this growth rate was slower than the 490 million tonnes increase recorded in the previous year, 2022.
According to the IEA, if not for the introduction and use of technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear energy and electric cars, the global increase in energy-related CO2 emissions in the past half-decade would have been triple the recorded 900 million tonnes.
Furthermore, it is important to note that over 40% of the increase in energy-related CO2 emissions was instigated by severe drought conditions in several regions, including China, the United States, and India. These droughts led to a decrease in hydroelectric production, compelling companies to resort to the use of fossil fuels. In the absence of these water shortages, there would have been a decline in global carbon emissions solely from electricity production in the past year.
In 2023, there was an increase in carbon dioxide emissions in countries such as China and India. Conversely, advanced economies witnessed a record drop in emissions, even while their economies were growing. The emissions in these advanced economies reduced to the lowest levels in 50 years as the demand for coal receded to levels that mirrored the early 20th century. A milestone was also reached last year when, for the first time, at least half of the energy generated in these advanced economies was sourced from low-emission sources. These sources majorly included renewable energy and nuclear power.
