A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicated that in 2022, 8,025 tons of Coal, the largest annual figure since this statistic was recorded. In this way, 2022 took the record from 2013, the year in which 7,997 tons were used.
The leader in the use of Coal during this year it was China, which used more than half of all world production, while the second country was India, although with a much smaller amount. In the case of the subcontinent, they spent more than double on this hydrocarbon than all the territories of the European Union combined, which, in turn, consumed more than in the United States, a country that reduced its use compared to 2021, by Contrary to global trends.
Despite this news, the IEA indicated that although in 2022 the consumption of Coal and in 2023 it will also do so, 2024 is a year in which this situation will stabilize a bit to begin to decline in 2025. However, the reality is that the excessive expenditure of these fuels is a very hard blow for various environmental measures, since the burning of this ore It is the main source of CO2, one of the most harmful gases in the world.
One of the main reasons they give for the increase in emissions was the complicated exit from the pandemic and the energy crisis that arose after the war in Ukraine. The main use is to generate energy and the need for this power, together with the increase born after Russia cut off the gas supply at the beginning of the war, further promoted the use of gas. Coal throughout the world.
The problems for renewable energy
Despite the importance of renewable energy around the globe, with the rise of new economies in countries like India and China in recent decades, there seems to be a new push for hydrocarbons to fuel electricity reserves and increase production.
“Fossil fuels are the cheapest and most convenient method of providing reliable energy,” scientist Ken Caldeira, a climate specialist at Carnegie University, told The Washington Post. Although the electricity generated by sources such as wind or sunlight can cost much less, its micro outages and the lack of huge cheap batteries are an obstacle to the expansion of these sources. “On many occasions, developing nations have to put climate needs second before their immediate economic concerns,” he said.