International Energy Agency finds demand for energy rises by a surprising 2.3% – with fossil fuels, and especially coal, filling much of the gap. China, the US and India had the biggest increases in emissions, while areas such as the EU and the UK saw emissions decline last year. Depressingly one of the main drivers was unusual weather linked to climate change. “It seems like a vicious cycle,” said Mr Birol, pointing out that in India air conditioning had become a big factor in power demand. “Heating and cooling are one of the biggest drivers of energy demand growth.”
FT 26th March 2019 read more »
Greenhouse gas emissions from energy production rose strongly again last year, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, with a young fleet of coal-fired power plants in Asia accounting for a large proportion of the increase. Energy demand grew at its fastest pace this decade, with a 2.3% increase globally driving rises in fossil fuel consumption. Coal use in power stations was up by nearly a third, and together gas and coal were responsible for nearly 70% of the growth in energy consumption, and while demand for solar and wind power also increased, it was by much less overall. Gas consumption in the US leapt by 10%, or the equivalent of the UK’s entire gas consumption in a year. Fracking has been a key driver, and oil production in the US also grew, while the dismantling of government incentives intended to reduce reliance on fossil fuels has continued. Asia is now responsible for the majority of coal-fired power generation globally, and the average age of power plants there is now just 12 years, meaning they have decades to go before reaching their planned end of production in about 30 to 50 years. Heating and cooling accounted for a fifth of the increase in global energy demand – the cooling needed for many areas to cope with global warming is an increasing factor in the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, as temperatures in some regions rose to record levels as the result of climate change. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said last year had been a “golden” year for gas, which met nearly half of the growth in global demand for energy, but urged governments to take action that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Guardian 26th March 2019 read more »
The world’s energy systems have not become any greener in the last five years, a damning assessment from the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded yesterday. The report came within hours of the latest annual update from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which concluded global energy use, coal power generation, and greenhouse gas emissions all rose last year. Despite the agreement of global climate targets, falling greener power costs, and mounting public and business concern over the catastrophic impacts runaway climate change could wreak, little to no progress has been made on making energy systems more environmentally sustainable since 2014, the WEF warned.
Business Green 26th March 2019 read more »
