USA TODAY: Global carbon dioxide emissions reach highest level in history

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Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas most responsible for global warming – have rebounded to their highest level in history, experts reported Tuesday, as the world economy rebounded strongly from the COVID-19 crisis and relied heavily on coal to power that growth.

The report, which was prepared by the International Energy Agency, found that emissions of carbon dioxide rose by 6% in 2021 to 36.3 billion metric tons.

Aerial view of a coal-fired factory in Chengde, China, in 2018. Industrial emissions of carbon dioxide have returned close to pre-pandemic levels, according to new research. Surging consumption of coal and natural gas for power plants and industry is driving the rebound, especially in China. © Shutterstock Aerial view of a coal-fired factory in Chengde, China, in 2018. Industrial emissions of carbon dioxide have returned close to pre-pandemic levels, according to new research. Surging consumption of coal and natural gas for power plants and industry is driving the rebound, especially in China.“The numbers make clear that the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis has not been the sustainable recovery that IEA executive director Fatih Birol called for during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020,” the IEA said in a statement.

“The world must now ensure that the global rebound in emissions in 2021 was a one-off – and that an accelerated energy transition contributes to global energy security and lower energy prices for consumers,” the IEA said Tuesday.

COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 caused a massive plunge in fossil fuel use, and Birol predicted at that time that “the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.” But that prediction didn’t come true.

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas releases “greenhouse” gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane into Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. The emissions have caused the planet’s temperatures to rise to levels that cannot be explained by natural factors, scientists say.

In the past 20 years, the world’s temperature has risen about two-thirds of a degree Fahrenheit, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Coal accounted for more than 40% of the overall growth in global CO2 emissions in 2021, reaching an all-time high of 15.3 billion metric tons, according to the IEA. CO2 emissions from natural gas rebounded well above their 2019 levels to 7.5 billion metric tons.

The rebound of global CO2 emissions above pre-pandemic levels has largely been driven by China, where emissions increased by 750 million metric tons from 2019 to 2021.

China was the only major economy to experience economic growth in both 2020 and 2021, the IEA said.

Meanwhile, in the United States, CO2 emissions in 2021 were 4% below their 2019 level.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Global carbon dioxide emissions reach highest level in history

Global carbon dioxide emissions reach highest level in history (msn.com)