Charted: Country Emission Changes Since Paris
The Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 with countries looking to reduce their emissions. Carbon dioxide output, the primary driver of climate change, can be evaluated many ways, including changes in total values and per person emissions.
Change in Emissions and Energy Consumption by Person (2016-2020)
In 2020, the world consumed 556.6 exajoules of primary energy, China consuming over a quarter at 145.5 exajoules.
Primary energy includes energy forms found in nature (crude oil, coal, natural gas, wind) that humans have not transformed into a secondary or tertiary energy source like electricity.
Largest Increases and Decreases in Emissions by Country (2016-2020)
Due to the COVID restrictions imposed, global CO2 emissions declined by almost 2 billion tonnes in 2020 (34.3 billion tonnes (BT) to 32.3 BT).
United States, the second largest CO2 emitter dropped from 5.0 BT in 2020 to less than 4.5 BT, whereas China, the largest emitter increased from 9.8 BT to 9.9 BT.
Primary Energy Comments
Primary energy includes energy forms found in nature (crude oil, coal, natural gas, wind) that humans have not transformed into a secondary or tertiary energy source like electricity.
In 2020, the world consumed 556.6 exajoules of primary energy, China consuming over a quarter at 145.5 exajoules.
Biofuels
Liquid biofuels have become an important player in decarbonization of land transport. According to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation (IICA) on Agriculture, the production and consumption of liquid biofuels increased eleven fold between 2000 and 2019.
Though biofuels production and consumption fell significantly in 2020, it has experienced a sharp recovery in 2021 with the easing of vehicle mobility restrictions introduced in 2020.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions are a primary driver of climate change. Due to the COVID restrictions imposed, global CO2 emissions declined by almost 2 billion tonnes in 2020 (34.3 billion tonnes (BT) to 32.3 BT).
United States, the second largest CO2 emitter dropped from 5.0 BT in 2020 to less that 4.5 BT, whereas China, the largest emitter increased from 9.8 BT to 9.9 BT.
Coal
Globally, over 7.7 billion tonnes (159.6 exajoules) of coal was produced in 2020.
The world consumed 151.4 exajoules of coal in 2020 a 4% decline from 2019 and the largest decline in over 7 decades. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects coal to rise 2.6% in 2021 before leveling in 2025 with natural gas expected to surpass coal as the second largest source of primary energy after oil.
Electricity
Electricity generation fell 0.9% in 2020 to 26,823.2 Terawatt-hours (TWh) from 27,001 TWh in 2019. Forty-eight percent of the electricity generated was in the Asia Pacific.
Though overall fossil fuel generation fell 3% (from 16970.5 TWh in 2019 to 16447.5 TWh in 2020), renewables grew significantly by almost 13% (from 2789.2 TWh in 2019 to 3147.0 TWh in 2020).
Natural Gas
Global natural gas consumption declined by 2.3% (81 billion cubic metres (bcm)) in 2020 but the share of natural gas in primary energy continued to increase to a high of 24.7%.
Though the drop was experienced in most regions, China saw demand grow by 6.9%.
Nuclear
Though nuclear consumption fell 4.1% in 2020, the greatest decline since the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in 2011, worldwide capacity is increasingly steadily with 50 reactors under construction.
According to the World Nuclear Association, most of the reactors under construction are in Asia, with major plans for new units in Russia.
Crude Oil
The pandemic hammered the oil industry in 2020 forcing demand to fall by 9.3% and for the first time in history U.S. oil prices turned negative.
The current energy crunch has turned that picture around with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reaching nearly seven-year highs in October 2021.
Renewables
Renewables consumption for power generation continued to grow to 31.7 exajoules (EJ) in 2020 from 28.8 EJ in 2019, even with the striking decline in energy demand. Solar was responsible for 7.6 EJ and wind 14.1 EJ.
Globally renewable generation continues to be dominated by solar (855.7 TWh) and wind (1591.2 TWh).
Source:
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html
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