•Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and cement have increased by 1.1% in 2023, and are expected to increase by the same amount in 2024. Coal emissions reached a new record high; oil emissions increased too, but still remain below pre-pandemic levels; and gas emissions and those from cement and other sources remained relatively unchanged.
In the last 20 years, this increase of CO2 emissions has been driven by non-Western countries:
•China represents 31% of global CO2 emissions, and they will increase by 4% in 2023. India represents 8% of global emissions, and in 2023 they will increase by 8.2%. Both countries are still industrializing and to cope with the demand of the middle class, it is almost impossible for them to stop these emissions.
•The US represents 14% of global emissions, which will decrease by 3% in 2023. This is being driven by a large decrease in coal emissions, which are expected to fall by more than 18% compared with 2022 levels. Oil emissions are expected to decline by 0.3%, reflecting the rise of electric vehicles, while emissions from gas are expected to increase by 1.4%.
•The European Union represents 7% of global emissions, and they are expected to decrease by 7% in 2023. This is driven by an 18% decline in coal emissions, a 1.5% decline in oil emissions and a 6.6% decline in natural gas emissions. The sanctions against Russia are a major factor in that.
•A positive global trend is noted in land-use emissions, which are related mainly to deforestation, which have been falling over the past two decades. The ocean takes up around 26% of total human emissions, while the land sink, mostly trees, takes up around 31% of global emissions. The growth rate of atmospheric CO2 in 2023 is expected to be around 2.4ppm, which matches the average rate over the past decade (2013-22).
•In order to limit the warming of the planet to less than 2 °C compared to pre-industrial levels, global industrial emissions will need to fall by 25% by 2030 for the world to be on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
There are promising technologies and innovations that can drive decarbonization in industry: Green hydrogen fuel made from clean electricity and water, energy efficiency measures across supply chains, and carbon capture, solar panels, and wind turbines are among the most important ones.
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