- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
Renewables help offset rise in coal emissions, IEA says
A jump in renewables and efficiency efforts helped blunt a feared runaway in carbon emissions growth from a surge in coal use last year due to the global energy crisis, the IEA said Thursday, even if CO2 emissions hit a new record.
In the end, global energy-related emissions rose by less than one percent but are still on an unsustainable growth trajectory, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.
"The impacts of the energy crisis didn't result in the major increase in global emissions that was initially feared –- and this is thanks to the outstanding growth of renewables, EVs, heat pumps and energy-efficient technologies," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.
"Without clean energy, the growth in CO2 emissions would have been nearly three times as high," he added.
The additional 321 million tonnes of energy-related emissions took the total to a new high of more than 36.8 billion tonnes. Energy-related emissions accounted for more than three-quarters of the production of greenhouse gasses.
The 0.9 percent increase was less than the global economic growth rate of 3.2 percent in 2022, returning to a decade-long trend broken last year by the six percent jump due to the post-Covid rebound in global economic activity.
Russia's sharp cutback in natural gas deliveries to Europe last year following international sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine triggered a global energy crisis.
Not only did many European countries increase their use of coal-fired power plants, Asian countries did so even more as the price of liquefied natural gas skyrocketed.
CO2 emissions from coal grew 1.6 percent, which was around one-quarter of the rate in 2021, the IEA said.
Nevertheless, emissions growth still exceeded by far the average growth rate of coal emissions during the past decade, and more than offset the 1.6 percent drop in emissions from lower natural gas consumption.
The IEA noted that CO2 emissions grew the fastest from oil, at 2.5 percent, but still remain below pre-pandemic levels. The increase was driven in large part to the post-Covid rebound in air traffic.
The Paris-based IEA said China's emissions overall were flat last year due to strict Covid-19 measures and declining construction activity, which led to weaker economic growth and reductions in industrial and transport emissions.
But excluding China, emissions from emerging and developing economies in Asia increased 4.2 percent due to their rapid economic growth and rising demand for energy.
Birol also took a swipe at fossil fuel companies, which he noted were making record revenues thanks to the jump in energy prices.
"We still see emissions growing from fossil fuels, hindering efforts to meet the world's climate targets," he said.
Fossil fuel companies "need to take their share of responsibility, in line with their public pledges to meet climate goals," Birol said, urging them to review their strategies in order to produce "meaningful emissions reductions".
A.Aguiar--PC