Carbon emissions reached 33.1 gigatons last year, breaking their previous record even though the annual increase was relatively modest, at 1.7 percent, according to the International Energy Agency in its new Global Energy & CO2 Status Report.
Coal-fired power generation continues to be the single-largest emitter, accounting for 30 percent of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.
Energy consumption worldwide grew by 2.3 percent in 2018, nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy as well as higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world.
The biggest gains came from natural gas, which emerged as the fuel of choice last year, accounting for nearly 45 percent of the increase in total energy demand. Demand for all fuels rose, with fossil fuels meeting nearly 70 percent of the growth for the second year running. Renewables grew at double-digit pace, but still not fast enough to meet the increase in demand for electricity around the world.
The United States had the largest increase in oil and gas demand worldwide. Gas consumption jumped 10 percent from the previous year, the fastest increase since the beginning of IEA records in 1971. The annual increase in United States’ demand last year was equivalent to the United Kingdom’s current gas consumption.