Unlike the pandemic-driven drop in 2020, this year's reduction in carbon emissions was not caused by decreased energy demand. Instead, demand increased, but additions of electric vehicles and solar and wind generation covered almost 70 percent of the growth. Researchers found that between 2019 and 2025, 59 countries cut their emissions despite economic growth, even as global emissions increased by 0.8 percent per year.
The study estimates that had clean energy growth not occurred, the increase would have been much higher at 1.9 percent per year. With International Monetary Fund projections for GDP through 2028, researchers extrapolated trends forward, expecting global fossil fuel emissions to continue increasing. The growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy is offsetting most emissions growth, but not all of it.
Researchers write that if further acceleration of clean technology deployment can be supported, a sustained peak and decline in global CO2 emissions could be a few years away.
Source: Ars Technica · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing