Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows. Chevron right
Recovery teams, displaced residents in Texas face brutal heat. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

72°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

72°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Climate

Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to rise by less than 1% this year as renewables and EVs take off

The International Energy Agency's forecast comes despite widespread concerns of a rush back to coal, oil and gas amid a global energy crunch and Russia's war in Ukraine.

By Angela Dewan, CNN

Published Oct 19, 2022 6:50 PM EDT | Updated Oct 19, 2022 6:50 PM EDT

Copied

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are on track to rise less than 1% this year. Pictured is a coal-fired power plant on Nov. 11, 2021, in Hubei province, China. (Photo by Getty Images via CNNewsource)

 (CNN) -- Finally, some good news in the battle against greenhouse gasses: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are on track to rise less than 1% this year.

That's despite widespread concerns of a rush back to coal, oil and gas amid a global energy crunch and Russia's war in Ukraine. We have electric vehicles and an uptake of renewables to thank for the surprisingly small increase.

The International Energy Agency published its forecast in a report Wednesday, showing CO2 emissions are on track for an increase of 300 million metric tons in 2022, reaching 33.8 billion tons. That's a far smaller rise than the jump of nearly 2 billion tons in 2021 as the world rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The increase this year comes largely from the aviation sector, which was severely impacted by the pandemic.

"The global energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted a scramble by many countries to use other energy sources to replace the natural gas supplies that Russia has withheld from the market. The encouraging news is that solar and wind are filling much of the gap, with the uptick in coal appearing to be relatively small and temporary," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

"This means that CO2 emissions are growing far less quickly this year than some people feared -- and that policy actions by governments are driving real structural changes in the energy economy. Those changes are set to accelerate thanks to the major clean energy policy plans that have advanced around the world in recent months."

The IEA said that without the major deployment of renewables and EVs globally, the rise in emissions would have been much larger, potentially as much as 1 billion tons.

Demand for coal has increased as Russia's war in Ukraine sends natural gas prices soaring, and CO2 emissions from coal power generation, driven largely by Asia, are forecast to grow by more than 200 million tons, or 2%, this year.

But the increase in emissions from coal has been "relatively small" and are "considerably outweighed by the expansion of renewables," according to the report.

The world has hit record growth this year in solar and wind power, generating more than 700 terawatt-hours of energy. That's enough to power around 67 million American homes for a year.

And despite significant drought impacting huge swaths of the Northern Hemisphere, the overall picture for hydropower is still positive -- global hydropower generation has increased this year and is expected to contribute more than one-fifth of growth in renewables.

The global outlook comes a day after a separate report showed that the EU has generated a quarter of its power from renewable sources since Russia launched its war, which is a record for the time period.

The IEA forecasts EU emissions to decrease this year, even though the bloc's coal use is up. Several EU countries are using more coal in response to the hike in gas prices and as Russia cuts of supplies to some member states.

The report comes less than three weeks before the COP27 climate negotiations begin in Egypt, where countries are expected to ensure their emissions reduction plans are aligned with the main goals of the Paris Agreement: to contain global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, but preferably 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial times.

The IEA's forecast makes for a rosier-than-expected backdrop to the talks, but scientists warn that emissions should be rapidly decreasing to keep the 1.5-degree goal in sight.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

MORE TO READ:

Dangerous flesh-eating bacteria infections increased in Florida after Hurricane Ian
More hurricanes? AccuWeather forecasters say Atlantic tropical season isn’t over yet
Upper Midwest buried by heavy snow as Chicago sees 1st flakes
Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows

Jul. 10, 2025
Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Abandoned cars submerged by severe flooding in North Carolina

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Texas Hill Country recovery, cleanup teams to face brutal July weather

13 hours ago

Weather News

State inspection before floods found Camp Mystic had emergency plan

18 hours ago

Weather News

Deadly flash flooding devastates wildfire-scarred New Mexico town

5 hours ago

Astronomy

1st full moon of summer to rise Thursday night

1 day ago

Weather News

Most Texas flood victims face devastation without flood insurance

15 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

12 hours ago

AccuWeather Ready

Floodwater rising in your house? Do this

2 days ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

11 hours ago

Weather News

Earthquake swarm detected at Mount Rainier, biggest since 2009

16 hours ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

11 hours ago

AccuWeather Climate Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to rise by less than 1% this year as renewables and EVs take off
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...