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Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a historic high of 32.5 gigatons last year, after three years of being flat, due to higher energy demand and the slowing of energy efficiency improvements, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
Global energy demand rose by 2.1 percent last year to 14,050 million tonnes of oil equivalent, more than twice the previous year’s rate, boosted by strong economic growth, according to preliminary estimates from the IEA.
Energy demand rose by 0.9 percent in 2016 and 0.9 percent on average over the previous five years.
Over 70 percent of global energy demand growth was met by oil, natural gas and coal, while renewables accounted for almost all of the rest, the IEA said in a report.
Improvements in energy efficiency slowed last year. As a result of these trends, global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.4 percent in 2017 to 32.5 gigatons, a record high.
“The significant growth in global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2017 tells us that current efforts to combat climate change are far from sufficient,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.
“For example, there has been a dramatic slowdown in the rate of improvement in global energy efficiency as policy makers have put less focus in this area.”
Carbon dioxide emissions are the primary cause of global average temperature rise, which countries are seeking to curb to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.
At talks in Germany late last year among almost 200 nations about details of a global climate accord, scientists presented data showing that world carbon emissions were set to rise 2 percent in 2017 to a new record.
EMISSIONS
“Global emissions need to peak soon and decline steeply to 2020; this decline will now need to be even greater given the increase in emissions in 2017,” the IEA said in its report.
The IEA said Asian countries accounted for two thirds of the global increase in emissions. China’s emissions rose by 1.7 percent to 9.1 gigatons, limited by renewables deployment and more rapid switching to gas from coal.
Most major economies saw an increase in carbon emissions, though Britain, the United States, Mexico and Japan experienced declines.
The biggest drop came from the United States, where they were down 0.5 percent to 4.8 gigatons due to higher renewables deployment.
The IEA said oil demand grew by 1.6 percent, or 1.5 million barrels a day, more than twice the average annual rate over the past decade, driven by the transport sector and rising petrochemical demand.
Natural gas consumption grew by 3 percent - the most of all fossil fuels - with China alone accounting for nearly a third of the growth. This was largely due to abundant and relatively low-cost supplies, the IEA said.
Coal demand was 1 percent higher last year, reversing declines over the previous two years, due to rises in coal-fired electricity generation, mostly in Asia.
However, renewables-based electricity generation rose by 6.3 percent, due to the expansion of wind, solar and hydropower. Renewables had the highest growth rate of any energy source, meeting a quarter of world energy demand growth, the IEA said.
June 5th 1972 was announced by the United Nations as World Environment Day and since then has been celebrated worldwide for 46 years to increase environmental awareness. On this important day this year ÇEVKO Foundation participated in the events organized by a total of 52 municipalities including İstanbul and provided informative material on recycling, reaching more than 75 thousand consumers.
Herein we would like to share some of these activities with our readers.
Environmentalist Children of Yenimahalle Lecture Grown-Ups – June 3rd
Thousands of children filling up the Hasan Doğan Stadium drew attention to the importance of environment. During the event, the children together with their YENİMEK teachers had the time of their lives with activities like the art of ‘ebru’, doll-making workshop, fragrant stone art, and ceramic art. Kindergarten kids learned about the environment through games and fun.
The Mayor of Yenimahalle, Fethi Yaşar, also attended the festival and participated in the cloth bag painting activity with the children, later having photos taken with them.
World Environment Day at Esenyurt – June 4th
Esenyurt Municipality celebrated the World Environment Day this year with the slogan “Our Nature Asks Us A Favour” in various schools and town squares, informing the public in the process. ÇEVKO Information Team and the packaging waste mascots met up with the residents of Esenyurt on this special day. Mayor Ali Murat Alatepe also participated in the celebrations where the public and students were informed on environment and recycling.
