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World power sector emissions increase 5% over pre-pandemic levels
Global power sector emissions have increased 5% above pre-pandemic levels of the first half of 2019, while electricity demand also increased by 5%, as per the Ember report.
Global power sector emissions rebounded in the first half of 2021, rising 12% from the lows witnessed in the first half of 2020 when Covid-19 lockdowns went into effect.
The increased global electricity demand was met by wind and solar power of 57% but also by a rise in emissions-intensive coal power of 43% that caused the carbon emissions to rise.
The Ember report comes in the wake of a recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which warned that time is running out for the world to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
As the world rebounds from the pandemic impact in 2020, the report compares the first six months of 2021 to the same period in 2019 to display for the first time how the electricity transition has shifted. Wind and solar-generated over a tenth of global electricity and overtook nuclear generation for the first time.
In India, things seemed better as the continued impact of the pandemic in the first half of 2021 kept electricity demand muted and coal increased least. Electricity demand in 1H 2021 was only 3% more than the 1H 2019 levels. This is one of the lowest rises in developing Asia as pandemic restrictions continued. Almost 72% increase in demand of India was met by growth in solar and wind, which increased by 47% and 9%, individually.
Much of the increase in emissions resulted from massively grown demand in developing countries, especially in Asia. In China, electricity demand increased by 14% from 1H 2019 to 1H 2021 and is nearing European Union (EU) per capita levels. Only 29% of that increase in demand was met by wind and solar, while over two-thirds were met by coal power. The share of global coal generation in China increased from 50% before the pandemic to 53%.
