Energy Crisis Sets Stage for Record Global Carbon Emissions
- Greenhouse gas emissions had already been surging this year
- Renewed fossil fuel use poses a threat to Paris Agreement
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The energy crisis, the coming winter weather and the release of pent-up pandemic demand have sent nations scrambling to stockpile fossil fuels, a move that portends a rebound for global carbon dioxide emissions this year.
The trajectory poses a new threat to the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5° Celsius. China, India and other developing economies are driving the demand for coal, but even the U.S. is poised to increase its consumption of the dirtiest fossil fuel in almost a decade, according to a forecast from the International Energy Agency.