With global greenhouse gas emissions growing fast in 2021, the 1.5C emission limits critical to the Earth’s climate patterns will be reached in 11 years, according research by the international emissions-measuring organisation Global Carbon Project, British news portal The Guardian reports.
The organisation predicted in its research Global Carbon Budget 2021 that emissions from coal and gas are jumping this year by more than they fell in 2020. Oil use is also rising in 2021, but more slowly because transport activity remains below normal.
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The EU and the US are also expected to see sharp rises of 7.6% in 2021, but remain on a longer term trend of slowly declining emissions. Renewables were the only energy source that continued to grow during the pandemic.
Researchers from the Global Carbon Project noted that 2022 could set a new record for global emissions. However, it will depend on whether the expected increased in oil consumption, as travel recovers further, is offset by reversal of the surge in coal burning seen in 2021, The Guardian reports.
Research: Greenhouse gas emissions globally return to pre-pandemic anti-records
