Thread by @DrSimEvans

The world's fossil fuel CO2 emissions reached a record high in 2018, according to the @IEA

That's really terrible news for meeting global climate goals:

CO2 must peak and rapidly decline, to have any chance of avoiding dangerous warming.

THREAD

1/

iea.org/geco/

The IEA findings confirm preliminary estimates published by @gcarbonproject in December, which also found fossil fuel CO2 reaching a record high.

(Overall CO2 grew slightly slower than from fossil fuels, GCP said, due to falling land use emissions).

2/

carbonbrief.org/analysis-fossi…

The main problem was that global energy demand rose at its fastest pace for a decade (coloured bar on the right of the chart).

3/

iea.org/k3k0/

This rapid increase in global energy demand was due to strong economic growth (dark blue bar)…

…which overwhelmed improvements in energy efficiency (orange) and double-digit growth in wind and solar output (green).

4/

iea.org/k3k0/emissions/

Once more with feeling: The world will not meet its climate goals with clean energy alone. Energy efficiency is a vital part of the mix…

…but it's improving far slower than it needs to if we are to get back on track (dark vs light blue bars).

5/

iea.org/k3k0/efficienc…

Solar generation grew at a breakneck pace in 2018, up 31% on a year earlier.

Wind was up 12%, too.

And the world's single-largest clean energy source, nuclear, hit a record high.

But, oops, coal-fired generation rose 2.6%. It is still 18x solar.

6/

iea.org/k3k0/data/

Remember, too, that electricity remains a relatively small share of the global mix. (It'll have to grow its share to meet those climate goals).

For now though, looking at total energy demand, gas was by far the fastest-growing fuel last year.

7/

iea.org/k3k0/

The US led the way in global gas demand, due to a hot summer (gas powered aircon) a cold winter (gas fuelled heating) and the continuing switch from coal- to gas-fired power generation (the US saw near-record coal retirements last year, despite Trump)

8/

iea.org/k3k0/gas/

Oil demand also continues to grow apace.

Bad news is that aviation and the chemical industry were among the largest drivers. Those sources of demand won't be dented by EVs.

9/

iea.org/k3k0/oil/

If you're looking for good news – there isn't much in the IEA's report – then don't forget that coal demand remains below its 2014 peak, despite going up last year.

10/

iea.org/k3k0/coal/

Finally, congrats to the @IEA team for making the report available via an attractive online portal, with interactive charts and data tables aplenty.

More of this please!

11/ENDS

iea.org/k3k0/