A new analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on 1 March, shows a moderate increase in global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2023, which was slower than the previous year thanks to the expansion of clean energy technologies such as solar, wind and electric vehicles.
“Without clean energy technologies, global CO2 emissions growth would have been three times larger”, says the report.
In total, global emissions reached a record level of 37.4 billion tonnes. They increased by 410 million tonnes in 2023 (or 1.1%), compared with 490 million tonnes in 2022.
In particular, exceptional droughts led to a significant shortage of hydroelectricity, contributing more than 40% of the increase in emissions, with countries turning to fossil fuels as an alternative.
Advanced economies saw a record drop in emissions thanks to the deployment of renewable energy, improved energy efficiency, the switch from coal to gas and the slowdown in industrial production.
However, clean energy deployment remains concentrated in advanced economies and China, with limited progress in emerging and developing economies, underlining the need for international efforts to promote equitable transitions.
“The commitments made by nearly 200 countries at COP28 in Dubai in December show what the world needs to do to put emissions on a downward trajectory. Most importantly, we need far greater efforts to enable emerging and developing economies to ramp up clean energy investment”, said IEA Director Fatih Birol.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/b50 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)