Global Carbon Project: Coal, Oil, and Gas - the World is Burning Like Never Before

Instead of using less oil, gas, and coal, humanity is burning increasingly more of it. This year, global fossil carbon dioxide emissions are expected to reach a new record high, as stated by the international research initiative Global Carbon Project. There is no clear indication that the world has already reached the peak of fossil emissions, said Judith Hauck from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, one of the approximately 120 authors of the Global Carbon Budget 2024 report. According to the report, fossil CO2 emissions this year are likely to be 0.8 percent higher than last year, reaching 37.4 billion tons. 

Lead author Pierre Friedlingstein from the UK's University of Exeter added, in reference to the World Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan: “The heads of state and government meeting at COP29 must reduce fossil fuel emissions quickly and deeply so that we have a chance of keeping warming well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.”

Many countries have already reached the maximum

Hauck emphasized that there are now at least 22 countries where the emission of climate-damaging gases has been reduced in recent years while the economy grew. These included the USA, Germany, and many other European countries. “We see a trend here, which of course is far too slow for us, but it is heading in the right direction and gives hope.”

For China, which is responsible for almost a third of global CO2 emissions, researchers this year predict only a very slight increase of about 0.2 percent. The turning point could be reached there, as 0.2 percent is within the margin of error, commented climate scientist Niklas Höhne from the NewClimate Institute. China is massively investing in electromobility, which has reduced oil consumption.

However, the energy hunger in China and everywhere else in the world is large, partly due to the increased use of air conditioning and artificial intelligence. To meet demand, fossil energy infrastructure is often further expanded, Höhne continued. On the other hand, renewable energies are also growing, partly because solar panels, for instance, have become incredibly cheap. Eventually, these affordable renewable energies will push fossil fuels out of the market. “That is the hope that this will happen in the coming years.”