CNN
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The world consumed record amounts of oil, coal and gas last year, pushing planet-warming carbon pollution to a new high, according to a report published Thursday, dashing climate scientists’ hopes that global energy emissions may have peaked.
The increase in fossil fuels caused a 2.1% increase in energy-related emissions last year, pushing them above 40 billion metric tons for the first time, according to the report released Thursday by the Energy Institute.
The report paints a bleak picture of a world struggling to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels, even as the impacts of the climate crisis become more intense and deadly.
Brutal extreme heat is currently scorching parts of the planet. A heat wave unlike any seen in decades is sweeping large parts of the US, which is also grappling with deadly wildfires, storms and severe flooding. Hundreds of people have died after temperatures soared to 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. And India is currently grappling with a deadly summer heat wave that has killed dozens of people.
The report also shows that even as the world is adding clean, renewable resources at record levels, global energy demand is growing so fast that fossil fuels are filling the gaps.
Last year was “another peak year in our energy-hungry world,” said Juliet Davenport, president of the Energy Institute. “Energy is essential to human progress,” she added. “Now it’s also essential to our survival.”
Global oil, coal and gas consumption to grow by 1.5% in 2023, driven especially by or strong oil growth. Last year, the world consumed more than 100 million barrels per day for the first time, the report said. The US remained the largest oil producer, increasing its output by 8% last year.
In general, the share of fossil fuels in the 2023 global energy mix remained largely the same at 81.5%, down just 0.5% from last year.
Fossil fuel growth was particularly strong in developing economies, the report found.
India’s fossil fuel consumption rose 8% last year and, for the first time ever, the country used more coal than Europe and North America combined.
In China, fossil fuel use rose to a new record in 2023, by 6%, as the end of its prolonged Covid. The shutdown led to a return to fossil fuels. However, the share of fossil fuels in the country’s overall energy mix is declining as China continues to add large amounts of renewables.
The report points to some positive developments.
Fossil fuel use in major advanced economies has likely peaked and is beginning to decline, he found. In the US, fossil fuels fell to 80% of total energy consumed. In Europe, fossil fuels made up less than 70% of the energy mix for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, driven by falling demand and the rise of renewable energy.
Renewable energy production, excluding hydropower, rose 13% almost entirely due to a boom in wind and solar, according to the report, although the increase in renewables was not enough to meet the rise in global demand. for energy, which increased by 2% in 2023. .
“In a year where we have seen the contribution of renewables hit a new record, ever-increasing global energy demand means that the share coming from fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged,” said Simon Varley, vice chairman and head of energy and natural resources at firm KPMG, which co-authored the report.
Dave Jones, director of global insights at climate think tank Ember, who was not involved in the report, said it should be a wake-up call for governments to act. “The world is still as hungry as ever for energy. To turn the tide on fossil fuel use, renewables must grow much faster, while keeping an eye on less wasteful energy use,” he told CNN.
To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a goal countries agreed to in the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world must halve emissions by the end of this decade.