, Columnist
We Now Know How Much the Coal Surge Set Us Back
But the latest IEA report on carbon emissions comes with two spots of good news — and a lesson.
Coal yards in India are still plenty busy.
Photographer: Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images AsiaPacThis article is for subscribers only.
In an era where bad news on the climate comes thick and fast, the latest International Energy Agency report on global CO2 emissions at least came with a few pinches of positivity.
First, the negative bit. Total global CO2 emissions from energy and industrial processes grew by 0.9% to 36.8 gigatons in 2022. That is a smaller increase than was originally feared, but it’s a miniscule win: It still takes us up to an all-time high.