Fossil fuels usage increased after Covid pandemic

According to oil giant BP Plc annual Statistical Review of World Energy report released recently, the dirtiest fossil fuel made a comeback last year. Last year’s global increase in energy use resulted in a rebound of greenhouse gas emissions, which had seen a sharp drop in 2020.

The findings show the difficulty of achieving pledges from last year’s COP26 climate talks, where delegates clinched a historic deal to curb coal use in an attempt to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times, the level that scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic warming.

Primary energy demand rebounded by 5.8% last year, surpassing 2019 levels. Fossil fuel consumption was steady from pre-pandemic levels, accounting for 82% of total energy usage, with coal consumption surging more than 6%. That’s despite significant price increases in Europe and Asia.

Meanwhile, global oil demand grew by 5.7 million barrels a day, according to BP, but was still 3.7 million barrels a day below pre-pandemic levels, as the aviation industry in particular struggled to recover passenger numbers.

Global natural gas consumption also gained about 5% year-on-year, with prices surging fourfold to record levels in Europe and tripling in the Asia spot market.