2024-03-04 17:06:24
This article was originally published in English
Although energy demand has increased, clean energy technologies have allowed the world to avoid using more fossil fuels in the past year.
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According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), without clean energy technologies, global carbon emissions would have been three times more important over the last five years.
Global carbon dioxide emissions still hit a record high in 2023. However, a new analysis has found that the growth of clean energy sources has led to a “structural slowdown” in energy-related emissions.
Even as energy demand has increased, the expansion of solar, wind and nuclear power allowed the world to avoid even greater use of fossil fuels last year.
THE electric vehicles, which will account for one in five new car sales in 2023, have also helped prevent oil demand from surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Growth in global carbon emissions slows
The annual update, published on Friday March 1, shows that, despite the challenges, energy-related emissions have not increased as quickly in 2023 as in 2022. It suggests that the world might soon see a peak in carbon emissions as the use of clean energy technologies accelerates.
“The clean energy transition has undergone a series of stress tests over the past five years and demonstrated its resilience”says Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.
“A pandemic, an energy crisis and geopolitical instability might have derailed efforts to achieve cleaner, more secure energy systems,” he specifies.
Instead, adds Fatih Birol, the opposite happened in many economies. The transition to clean energy continues, limiting emissions despite greater energy demand in 2023 than in 2022.
In the European UnionFor example, emissions linked to energy production fell by almost 9%, half of this decline being attributable to the growth of clean energy. For the first time, thewind power has overtaken natural gas and coal in energy production, the IEA says.
The use of coal for electricity generation fell by 27% and that of natural gas by 15%. According to the IEA, the resumption of hydropower following the droughts of 2022 and the partial resumption of nuclear power have also helped to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Extreme weather conditions cause emissions
The IEA report also highlights the impact of weather conditions – worsened by El Niño – on energy production from clean sources.
Due to extreme drought, 2022 has been a year “historically bad” for hydroelectricity. The lack of water led to a decline in production, which was largely replaced by fossil fuels. This accounted for regarding 40% of the total increase in carbon dioxide emissions last year.
India and China were particularly affected by the decline in hydropower, with emissions from fossil fuels increasing by 5.2% in China. The rapid growth of other clean energy sources like solar, wind and electric vehicles in 2023 has not been enough to cover the growing demand.
In India, a weaker-than-usual monsoon increased electricity demand and reduced hydropower production, accounting for a quarter of the country’s emissions increase.
What remains to be done to reduce global emissions?
However, there are still obstacles to overcome to reach this peak in global emissions.
Clean energy growth remains concentrated in advanced economies and China. According to the IEA report, these two countries account for 90% of new solar and wind installations worldwide and 95% of electric vehicle sales.
And not all clean energy technologies have progressed: heat pump sales fell slightlylast year, as consumers were unable to afford high-value goods.
“The commitments made by nearly 200 countries during COP28 in Dubai in December show what the world needs to do to put emissions on a downward trajectory”explique Fatih Birol.
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“More important once more, we must redouble our efforts to enable emerging and developing economies to increase their investments in clean energy.”
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