Global Carbon Emissions This Year Near Pre-COVID-19 Levels... Close to All-Time High

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The global carbon dioxide emissions, which had slowed down last year due to the impact of COVID-19, are estimated to have returned to an upward trend this year with the recovery of economic activities, approaching an all-time high.

The Global Carbon Project (GCP), an international research organization tracking greenhouse gas emissions, released its annual report containing this information on the 4th (local time) at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) currently underway in Glasgow, UK.

According to GCP, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion this year are expected to reach 36.4 gigatons (GT), an increase of up to 4.9% compared to last year, similar to the 2019 level.

Last year, due to lockdown measures and other restrictions caused by COVID-19, economic activities were limited, resulting in a 5.4% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions compared to the previous year.

Professor Robert Jackson of the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University in the U.S. said, "It bounced back like a rubber band," pointing out that "this is exactly the same situation as when carbon emissions dropped by 1.5% the year after the 2008 financial crisis but then bounced back by 5% in 2010 as if nothing had changed."

In particular, GCP expects that greenhouse gas emissions in China, the largest emitter, will reach 11 GT this year, an increase of 5.5% compared to 2019.

China, which accounts for about one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions, has significantly increased the operation of coal-fired power plants to revive its economy, which had slowed due to the pandemic.

India, the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, is also estimated to increase its carbon dioxide emissions by 4.4% this year compared to 2019.

Global coal use has been declining since peaking in 2014. Although this year it is expected to fall short of the 2014 level, researchers predict it will exceed the pre-pandemic 2019 level.

Glen Peters, head of research at the International Climate Research Center in Oslo, Norway, said, "The return of coal use is really surprising," adding, "We thought China's coal use had already peaked, but now the peak has returned."

Following China, 23 countries including the U.S., currently the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter and historically the largest, as well as Japan, Mexico, and 14 European countries, which together account for about one-quarter of global greenhouse gases, have seen a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.

Additionally, GCP stated that the use of renewable energy has grown by more than 10% this year, showing levels similar to recent averages.

Furthermore, GCP added that the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from soil, rather than fossil fuel combustion, is considered an unexpected piece of good news. This is attributed to forest regeneration performing better than expected.

Accordingly, GCP explained that this year’s carbon dioxide emissions from trees and soil are estimated to be only 2.9 gigatons, which is just 64% of the levels seen in the early 2000s.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.