Energy-related CO2 emissions up by 1.1% in 2023

Energy-related CO2 emissions reached 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023, up 1.1% on 2022. Climatic conditions have had an impact on emissions: the rise in temperatures in 2023 represents around 120 million tonnes of CO2 avoided; conversely, low water levels around the world, particularly in China, have led to an increase in emissions of 170 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023. The recovery in global air traffic and the rebound in economic activity post-Covid have also had a significant impact on the level of emissions, of the order of 650 million tonnes this year.
The International Energy Agency believes that structural changes are at work that explain the slowdown in the increase, notably the development of renewable energies. As a result, the use of coal has fallen back, on average internationally, to its level at the beginning of the twentieth century.