GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Environment, Conservation, Pollution
Source: DTE
Context: According to the IEA’s ‘CO2 Emissions in 2022’ report, global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose by under 1% in 2022.
Background:
- The report is the first in a new series, the Global Energy Transitions Stocktake, which will bring together the IEA’s latest analysis in one place.
- This will make it freely accessible in support of the first Global Stocktake in the lead-up to the COP28 Climate Change Conference (Dubai, UAE).
About the report:
- It covers CO2 emissions from all energy combustion and industrial processes.
- It also includes information on methane and nitrous oxide emissions, providing a complete picture of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.
Important takeaways from the report:
- Global energy-related CO2 emissions grew by 0.9%/321 million tonnes in 2022, reaching a new high of more than 36.8 billion tonnes.
- The rise in emissions last year was far smaller than the exceptional jump of over 6% in 2021.
- However, the report called for stronger actions to accelerate the clean energy transition to move the world towards meeting its energy and climate goals.
Reasons behind better results in 2022: Growth of solar, wind, electric vehicles, heat pumps and energy efficiency helped limit the impacts of increased use of coal and oil amid the global energy crisis.
Region-specific findings:
- China’s emissions were broadly flat in 2022 due to strict Covid-19 measures.
- The EU emissions fell by 2.5%, thanks to the record deployment of renewables and energy savings measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also contributed.
- In the US, emissions grew by 0.8% as buildings increased their energy consumption to cope with extreme temperatures.
- Excluding China, emissions from Asia’s emerging and developing economies increased by 4.2%, reflecting their rapid economic and energy demand growth.
Fuel-by-fuel analysis:
- CO2 emissions from coal grew by 1.6% as the global energy crisis continued to spur a wave of gas-to-coal switching in Asia.
- The increase in coal emissions balanced the 1.6% decline in emissions from natural gas as supplies were limited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- CO2 emissions from oil grew by 2.5% (came mainly from the aviation sector) but still remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Insta Links:
Who should pay for climate damage?
Prelims Links: (UPSC 2020)
Which one of the following statements best describes the term ‘Social Cost of Carbon’? It is a measure, in monetary value, of the
- Long-term damage done by a tonne of CO2, emissions in a given year
- Requirement of fossil fuels for a country to provide goods and services to its citizens, based on the burning of those fuels
- Efforts put in by a climate refugee to adapt to live in a new place
- Contribution of an individual person to the carbon footprint on the planet Earth
Ans: 1
