Drought causes CO2 emissions to explode - peak in 2023

In the energy sector, global CO2 emissions have risen by 1.1 percent, reaching a new high. How can this be with the ever-increasing use of alternative energy sources?

One of the reasons for this is the lower energy production from hydropower. The 2023 drought is thus paying tribute. Chinese economic growth (for which our consumer behavior is not innocent) is also playing its part.

The report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) from March 1 states that the energy sector emitted 37.4 billion tons of CO2 in 2023 - that is around 90 percent of total emissions.

However, at 410 million tons, the year-on-year increase was less pronounced than in 2022, when it was 490 million tons of CO2 more than in 2021.

The drought

The drought had a massive impact on_{CO2 emissions}, particularly in countries with large hydropower capacities such as Canada, Mexico and China, as conventional means such as diesel and coal were used in the absence of alternative energy sources. This resulted in an increase in emissions of 170 million tons.

China and its economic growth

At 565 million tons, the increase in Chinese_{CO2 emissions} in 2023 was so strong because China continued to consume a lot of coal and the economy recovered particularly slowly from the pandemic.

In other industrialized countries, emissions have fallen despite growing economic output. This must continue to improve, as the calculations of climate researchers indicate that_{CO2 emissions} must fall sharply in the coming years in order to prevent a catastrophic level of global warming.

Emissions should peak by 2025 at the latest, after which they must fall.