China tops a new global record for CO2 _emissions in 2021

In a study, the International Energy Agency says the recovery from the pandemic resulted in an unprecedented number of polluting gases being emitted.

Global carbon dioxide (_CO2) emissions related to electric power generation broke a new record in 2021 and China was the main player in this increase.

A study by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the strong economic recovery following the Covid-19 crisis was the cause of the record increase to 36 billion tonnes, above pre-pandemic levels. The reason: Major economies turned to coal-fired generation to meet their rising demand. Coal accounted for more than 40% of overall global emissions growth.

The pause in the development of some renewable projects – which aimed to increase supply – and high gas prices triggered the use of carboelectric plants, many of them already with a downward trend in their use, drove the greater use of coal. Record natural gas prices have made the operating costs of coal plants considerably lower than combined cycle plants. This occurred mainly in the United States and Europe.

This source of generation grew greatly, although production via renewable methods also saw its greatest growth and nuclear generation also increased.

During 2020, when the peak of the pandemic was experienced, carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation fell by 5.2%. But from there the world has experienced a strong economic recovery driven by fiscal stimulus and the deployment of vaccines in major economies.

The rebound has been largely driven by China, the only large-scale economy to achieve economic growth in the past two years, despite being the site of the first cases. From 2019 to 2021 the emission of carbon dioxide in the Asian giant increased by 750 million tons, to add almost 12,000 tons or about 33% of emissions worldwide.

“With rapid GDP growth and additional electrification of energy services, electricity demand in China grew by 10% in 2021, faster than economic growth by 8.4%. With demand growth outpacing the increased supply from low-emission sources, coal was used to meet more than half of the increase in electricity demand,” the EIA says.

The crisis unleashed in recent weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine could again lead to an increase in the emission of polluting gases due to the sharp increase in the price of natural gas and the urgency of Europe to reduce at least partially imports of Russian gas. “The world must now ensure that the global uptick in emissions in 2021 is exceptional – and that an accelerated energy transition contributes to global energy security and lower energy prices for consumers,” the EIA says.

Source: Expansión