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IEA says 2020 saw the largest decline in energy demand, carbon emissions since WW2
Kaieteur News – According to data released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on March 2, global energy demand fell by an estimated 4.5% in 2020. This is the largest annual decline since the end of World War II.
Carbon emission trends, 1965 – 2020.
The plunge in energy demand was the largest factor behind the estimated 6% declines in global carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, which was also the largest such decline since World War II.
When energy giant BP began reporting on carbon dioxide emissions in 1965, it recorded a total of 11.2 billion metric tons of CO2. After rising steadily for decades, global carbon dioxide emissions fell by 6.4%, or 2.3 billion tonnes, in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic squelched economic and social activities worldwide. In 55 years, the world has almost tripled its carbon emissions.
The significance of this revelation can be grasped from the fact that there have only been a handful of times since 1965 that carbon emissions declined year-over-year, and at every such occurrence they quickly bounced back and once again began to climb. Richard Rapier commenting on the trend for online media page, oilprice.com, has posited that “because global energy demand seems to have largely recovered this year, it’s likely that 2021 will mark the largest annual increase in carbon emissions since 1965.”
He highlights that regionally, Asia Pacific is responsible for the largest share of carbon dioxide emissions, with more than double the combined emissions of the U.S. and the EU. The Asia Pacific Region is home to both China and India, the world’s two most populous countries and two of the largest carbon dioxide emitters.
Although all three Regions saw a decline in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, China – the world’s largest carbon emitter — was one of a handful of countries to see a year-over-year increase in carbon emissions. The world’s 10 largest emitters of carbon dioxide in 2020 were the same countries as in 2019. However, Iran jumped ahead of Germany and Saudi Arabia jumped ahead of Indonesia. Of the Top 10 emitters, only three have experienced a decline in emissions over the past decade. China is now responsible for nearly 30 percent of global carbon emissions.
However, since 1965 no country has put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the United States. The 278 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide the U.S. has emitted to the atmosphere in the past 55 years represented 21.7% of global emissions during that time. China wasn’t too far behind with 218 billion metric tons emitted. At current emission rates, China will surpass the U.S. as the country with the most historical emissions in 11 years.
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