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| In this June 3, 2017, file photo, the coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, stands in the distance in Juliette, Ga. (File photo by=AP/Branden Camp) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions could surge by 1.5 billion metric tonnes this year, following last year's decline due to the pandemic, according to a Tuesday (Apr 20) report from the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental group based in Paris.
That would be the second-largest annual increase in emissions since 2010 following the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, the IEA reported. Carbon dioxide emissions will increase by 5 percent this year, to 33 billion metric tonnes, the IEA forecast. The group says that the main driver is coal demand, which is on course to grow by 4.5 percent. That would surpass its 2019 level and approach its 2014 peak, according to the IEA, which says the electricity sector is responsible for about three-quarters of the rise.
Additionally, China is by far the world’s biggest coal user and carbon emitter, followed in emissions by the United States, the third largest user. The two countries pump out nearly half of the fossil fuel fumes that are warming the planet’s atmosphere. The IEA report landed in the same week that the US will host a virtual climate summit with dozens of world leaders.
