The International Energy Agency said Wednesday that global coal use is expected to reach a record high in 2024, making it almost certain to be the hottest year on record.
Despite calls to end humanity’s filthiest fossil fuel-burning operation. climate changeThe energy watchdog expects global coal demand to hit a record high for the third year in a row.
Scientists have warned that greenhouse gases that cause global warming must be drastically reduced to limit global warming to avoid catastrophic effects on the planet and humanity.
In early December, European Union climate watchdog Copernicus said that in 2024, Hottest on record ‘virtually certain’ — just surpassed the mark set last year.
But the IEA’s Coal 2024 report, released on Wednesday, predicts global coal use will peak in 2027 after exceeding 8.77 billion tonnes this year.
But that will depend on China. Consumed 30% more coal than the rest of the world combinedsaid the IEA.
China’s electricity demand was the biggest driver of the increase, with more than a third of the coal burned worldwide being carbonized in the country’s power plants.
Although the Chinese government aims to diversify power sources, including massive expansion of solar and wind power, the IEA estimates that China’s coal demand will still reach 4.9 billion tons in 2024, a new record in itself. He said it would be.
Coal demand increased not only in China but also in emerging countries such as India and Indonesia, offsetting the continued decline in developed countries.
However, the decline is slowing in the European Union and the United States. Coal use there is scheduled to fall by 12 percent and 5 percent, compared to 23 percent and 17 percent in 2023, respectively.
With the impending return to the White House of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax,” many scientists believe that if he becomes president for a second time, the world’s largest economy There are concerns that the country’s efforts to combat climate change will be watered down.
Coal mining also reached unprecedented levels, with production exceeding 9 billion tonnes for the first time, according to the IEA, with top producers China, India and Indonesia all setting new production records.
The energy watchdog said the explosion in power-hungry data centers that fuel the emergence of artificial intelligence is likely to boost power generation demand as well, a trend that could underpin electricity demand in coal-heavy China. I warned you that
The 2024 report reverses the IEA’s prediction last year that coal use would peak in 2023 and then start declining.
At the annual United Nations Climate Change Forum held in Dubai last year, countries pledged to transition away from fossil fuels.
But a follow-up review this year turned out to be acrimonious, with experts saying efforts to fight climate change risk being jeopardized if they fail to double down on their landmark pledges at COP29 in Azerbaijan. warned.
Founded in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, the IEA bills itself as “the world’s leading energy authority.”
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