The latest report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that global carbon emissions from the energy sector continued to rise in 2023, reaching a new high of 37,4 billion tons of CO2.

However, the pace of the increase slowed down from 490 mt CO2 in 2022 to 410 mt CO2 last year. Also, in the last ten years, “global emissions grew slightly more than 0.5% per year, the slowest rate since the Great Depression,” stated the IEA adding that “emissions are therefore undergoing a structural slowdown even as global prosperity grows.” 

The report also revealed that the largest driver of the increase was the reduced availability of hydropower due to “severe and prolonged droughts that impacted major hydropower regions, exacerbated by the influence of El Niño.” 

By far, the largest contributor to the increase was China. The country’s emissions grew by around 565 mt CO2 amid a rise in energy demand as the economy continued to rebound following the pandemic. Meanwhile, emissions from energy sectors declined by 9% (220 mt CO2) in the EU and by 4,1% (190 mt CO2) in the US.

In the European Union, the main reason for the decline was the growth of renewables such as wind power and hydroelectric. “For the first time, wind power surpassed both natural gas and coal in electricity generation, marking a historic milestone for the energy transition in the region.” As a result, the EU reduced further its reliance on fossil fuels last year with coal generation declining by 27% and gas generation by 15%.