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Summary
The global energy system continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels, with emissions rising to record levels in 2023 despite renewable energy advancements. China leads in emissions and energy consumption, while the International Energy Agency projects a peak in emissions by 2030. However, the shift towards renewable energy is evident, particularly in China’s growing solar and wind sectors.
Highlights
Shane White at worldenergydata.org has an excellent, data-driven site about global and country-by-country emissions and energy use trends, as well as a newsfeed and a primer on climate change:
- World energy trends: worldenergydata.org/world-energy-trends
- Country energy trends: worldenergydata.org/country-energy-trends
- Greenhouse emissions: worldenergydata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions
- Climate change: worldenergydata.org/climate-change
- Newsfeed: worldenergydata.org/the-anthropocene
The big picture, as illustrated below, is that global fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, after a Covid blip, and the production of coal, oil and gas all reached record highs in 2023. The most recent IEA report projects emissions peaking by 2030, though the 2023 UN Production Gap report suggested it could be a few years later than that.
And the country-by-country breakdown shows China’s emissions at more than 30% of the global total, more than double that of the USA in second place, and quadruple that of India in third place. Australia comes in at number 17, with 1.1% of global emissions.
Read the full post at Climate Code Red.
