CO2 emissions reach new record in 2022 US imposes new sanctions on supporters of North Korea

Energy-related CO2 emissions increased again by 0.9 percent in 2022, reaching a new record level of 36.8 billion tons. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Thursday, the value is below expectations. The emergence of green energy sources has partly offset the higher consumption of oil and coal.

However, energy-related emissions are on an “unsustainable growth rate” and are driving climate change further, the IEA explains. Greenhouse gases resulting from the conversion of energy sources such as coal, oil or natural gas are considered energy-related emissions. These emissions are responsible for more than three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions.

As early as 2021, energy-related CO2 emissions had risen to record levels as the global economy recovered from the impact of the corona pandemic and increased coal burning. At that time it was 36.3 billion tons worldwide.

Sea ice cover lower than ever

CO2 emissions have a global impact. The same in Antarctica. New records are also being set here: sea ice cover has reached a new minimum again.

Satellite data from February 19, 2023 shows that only about two million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean is covered by sea ice, says Lars Kaleschke, a sea ice expert at the Alfred Wegner Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven. The previous minimum of February 24, 2022 (2.27 million square kilometers) was again undershot.

It is still unclear whether the negative record values ​​in 2022 and 2023 heralded a statistically significant trend, Kaleschke said. This requires further data for the coming years. However, the development largely goes hand in hand with what scientists have calculated with climate models for Antarctica. Antarctica has an even stronger influence on the global climate than the Arctic, so the changes there are particularly relevant. (sda/oee)