Global CO₂ emissions from power sector have increased by 5% compared to pre-Covid levels, according to Ember

After a decline due to the Covid-19 pandemic, global CO₂ emissions from the power sector have risen again in the first half of 2021, increasing by 12% compared to the lowest levels observed in the first half of 2020.

They are now 5% above the pre-pandemic levels of the first half of 2019, according to new data published on Wednesday 25 August by the think tank Ember.

This “rebound” in emissions is mainly due to the increase in coal-fired power generation to meet rising global electricity demand (+5% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019).

According to Ember, 57% of this increase in demand was met by wind and solar energy, and 43% by coal.

Gas-fired power generation remained virtually unchanged, while hydro and nuclear power declined slightly.

For the European Union, CO₂ emissions from the electricity sector decreased by 12% compared to the first half of 2019 (see EUROPE 12771/8).

See the data published by Ember: https://bit.ly/3D9Kn0G (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)