Greenhouse gas emissions linked to the energy sector are on track to rebound this year, after a historic decline in 2020 caused by the Covid crisis, the International Energy Agency (IEA) worried on Monday.
"
The advanced data and projections confirm our concerns: global emissions in 2021 should rebound,
" said its executive director Fatih Birol at an online conference.
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Emissions related to the energy sector fell by 7% last year but the IEA does not see cause for celebration, as this is mainly the result of the pandemic and the economic crisis.
"
Many governments have not put in place the right energy policies: with the economic rebound, we will also see emissions go up,
" warned Fatih Birol.
He took the example of China, whose economy has strongly recovered and with it the consumption of oil and coal.
“
Today, our figures show that Chinese CO2 emissions are higher than before the crisis,
” he noted.
Fatih Birol, however, cited reasons to hope that 2021 could also be a "
pivotal year
", first of all referring to a "
significant new political alignment on the climate
".
He thus cited the large countries which have set themselves carbon neutrality objectives (European Union, China, Japan) and the upcoming change of administration in the United States with the election of Joe Biden.
"
I am sure that the new American administration will join this group of countries,
" said Fatih Birol.
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Among other positive factors, he mentioned the recovery plans, the holding of the COP26 in Glasgow in November or developments in clean energy.
The IEA also took stock of its own agenda for the year, including the publication in May of a special report on ways to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
