Emissions From Global Power Sector To Rise As Renewables Fail To Keep Up With Demand - IEA

Growth of renewable energy sources will fall short of increases in electricity demand as the world recovers from the pandemic, resulting in a rise in carbon emissions from the power sector from expanded use of fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2021) Growth of renewable energy sources will fall short of increases in electricity demand as the world recovers from the pandemic, resulting in a rise in carbon emissions from the power sector from expanded use of fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Thursday.

Based on current policy settings and economic trends, electricity generation from renewables - including hydropower, wind and solar� - is on track to grow strongly around the world over the next two years - by 8 percent in 2021 and by more than 6 percent in 2022, according to IEA's the semi-annual "Electricity Market Report."

"But even with this strong growth, renewables will only be able to meet around half the projected increase in global electricity demand over those two years," an IEA press release summarizing the report said.

The Asia-Pacific region, especially China and India, will likely account for most of the projected increase in global electricity demand, resulting in a 5 percent rise in coal-fired power production this year and a further 3 percent in 2022, the release added.

As a result, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the electricity sector - which fell in both 2019 and 2020 - are forecast to increase by 3.5 percent in 2021 and by 2.5 percent in 2022, which would take them to an all-time high, the IEA said.