IEA: Strong Growth in Renewable Energy Limits the Increase in CO2

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CO2 emissions caused by fossil fuels are expected to increase by just under 1 percent this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports based on its own calculations. That is a much smaller increase than last year.

According to the authoritative advisor for energy policy, it is partly due to the large-scale use of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, hydroelectric power stations and wind turbines, that global CO2 emissions are not rising faster.

There are also more and more electric cars on the road. According to the IEA, this also makes a difference in CO2 emissions.

There were fears that the extreme price increases for gas, partly driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, would make power stations much more likely to run on coal. Coal is more polluting than natural gas. The IEA indeed sees that the demand for coal will increase in 2022. But the increase in CO2 emissions due to the more intensive use of coal is dwarfed by the growth of renewable energy, according to the Paris organization.

The IEA estimates that global CO2 emissions will increase by 300 million tons this year compared to last year. The agency estimates that without the significant expansion of wind farms and solar energy parks, the increase would have been three times greater.

In 2021, emissions rose by 2 billion tons due to the rapid economic recovery after the corona crisis. According to the IEA, power plants and aviation are the main responsible for the increase in emissions this year. Airlines are carrying significantly more passengers this year than in 2021 and 2020 when international travel restrictions due to corona still hampered tourism.