New IEA Data Shows World on Path to Resume 'Carbon-Intensive Business-as-Usual'

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By Andrea Germanos, Commonย Dreams

Following warnings that the coronavirus-triggered drop in planet-warming emissions would be short-lived without structural changes, the International Energy Agency released data Tuesday showing that global CO2 emissions from the energy sector were 2 percent higher in December 2020 compared to the same month the previousย year.

The Paris-based agency said the figures reflect a lack of concrete action by global governments to follow through on pledges to meet net zero emissions by 2050 and predicted 2021 emissions would continue the upward trend barring sufficiently boldย action.

โ€œThe rebound in global carbon emissions toward the end of last year is a stark warning that not enough is being done to accelerate clean energy transitions worldwide. If governments don’t move quickly with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world’s historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions,โ€ said IEA executive director Fatihย Birol.

Birol further warned that the figures โ€œshow we are returning to carbon-intensiveย business-as-usual.โ€

โ€œThis year is pivotal for international climate action,โ€ he added, โ€œbut these latest numbers are a sharp reminder of the immense challenge we face in rapidly transforming the global energyย system.โ€

While emissions in the U.S. dropped 10 percent in 2020 overall, the downward trend began moving back up after a low point in spring. The nation capped off 2020 with December emissions being nearly the same as those in Decemberย 2019.

In India, an increase in emissions began in September with the loosening of Covid-19-related restrictions. China’s emissions began climbing upward in April, and its emissions for the year overall increased by 0.8ย percent.

The global shutdowns brought about by the pandemic resulted in a historic drop in global emissions, which climate activists said should be no substitute for real climate action and scientists said would ultimately do little to rein in global temperatureย increase.

Stressing that there’s โ€œno time to loseโ€ to address atmospheric concentrations of CO2, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in November: โ€œWe breached the global threshold of 400 parts per million in 2015. And just four years later, we crossed 410 ppm. Such a rate of increase has never been seen in the history of ourย records.โ€

โ€œThe lockdown-related fall in emissions is just a tiny blip on the long-term graph,โ€ said Taalas. โ€œWe need a sustained flattening of theย curve.โ€

Among those responding to the new IEA figures was Greta Thunberg of the youth-led climate movement Fridays forย Future.

โ€œWell, well, well,โ€ Thunberg tweeted. โ€œLooks like the so-called ‘ambitious commitments to include โ€œgreenโ€ policies in the economic recovery packages’ aren’t really workingย out.โ€

Greenpeace weighed in on new findings as well, tweeting, โ€œReal #ClimateAction and systemic changes are urgentlyย needed.โ€

โ€œGovernments and corporations are returning to carbon-intensive business-as-usual while extreme weather events wreak havoc and displace millions of people across the globe,โ€ said the climateย group.

This article originally appeared on Common Dreams and has been republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0ย License.

Main image: Traffic jam. Credit: Joiseyshowaa / Flickr CC BYSAย 2.0

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