China broke a coal production record in 2021, amid strong global energy demand. The urgency of the climate crisis should, however, make the elimination of coal a priority, pleaded on Tuesday the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, recalling that global emissions of greenhouse gases are still growing.
Driven by the revival of the economy and a rebound in energy demand, coal production in China hit an all-time high in 2021, with more than four billion tonnes mined, according to government data. This was an increase of 4.7% compared to 2020, an increase which comes against the backdrop of a 9% growth in international demand for coal for power generation in 2021.
According to a report published earlier in January by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity generation increased by 7% in 2021. , compared to 2020. In total, 62% of global electricity production was based on fossil fuels last year, including 36% for coal alone. A total of 28% of electricity was generated from renewables and around 10% from nuclear, according to the IEA.
However, the IEA forecasts an average growth of 8% per year in electricity production from renewable sources from 2022 to 2024, so that these sources could account for 32% of global electricity production in 2024.
End of coal
Following the release of the latest energy data, António Guterres warned on Tuesday that reducing coal use should be a climate priority for states, in a speech at the World Economic Forum, which is held in virtual mode.
The UN Secretary-General thus underlined the importance of not building new coal-fired power plants, while several new projects are still in development around the world. In a January 15 message to members of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the UN chief called for a phase-out of coal in OECD countries by 2030 and 2040 for the rest of the world.
In the context of the most recent UN climate conference (COP26), the countries did not manage to agree on the wording of an article of the final declaration which addressed the issue of coal. . At the request of India and China, the text was modified to refer to the need to continue efforts to “reduce” the use of coal without a system for capturing and storing greenhouse gas emissions, instead of betting on “elimination”.
Moreover, the reference to the end of “fossil fuel subsidies” had previously been modified in the second version of the draft declaration, so as to specify that it is only a question of so-called “inefficient” subsidies.
Warming up in progress
Without a major reduction in the use of fossil fuels, including coal, it will be impossible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, insisted Mr. Guterres. In a report published last year, the IEA also underlined the importance of immediately abandoning any new project for the exploration and exploitation of fossil fuels: natural gas, oil and coal.
To hope to limit global warming to +1.5°C, compared to the pre-industrial era, it would be necessary to reduce global GHG emissions by at least 45% by 2030, compared to the level of 2010.
According to the UN, emissions are instead on a 14% growth trajectory by the end of the decade. And according to the most recent update of the “Nationally Determined Contributions”, or voluntary commitments made by States, the world is still heading for a warming of at least +2.7°C, or even 2.2°C. C, assuming that all political promises of “carbon neutrality” by 2050 are respected.
The warming has now reached 1.2°C, a situation which is already causing “devastating consequences”, according to Mr. Guterres. Over the past two decades, the economic cost of climate-related disasters has increased by 82%, he pointed out on Tuesday.