Carbon emissions to fall by 8%, predicts International Energy Ag

The coronavirus pandemic has seen an unprecedented slump in demand for fossil fuels, but not renewable energy which is increasing its share

The fall in demand for energy due to coronavirus will dwarf the impact of the 2008 financial crisis and result in a record annual decline in carbon emissions of almost 8 per cent.

That’s according to the International Energy Agency’s latest Global Energy Review, which examined the pandemic’s impact on all major fuels and concluded that coal, oil and gas would be hardest hit with renewables increasing their share.

“The plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering, especially for coal, oil and gas. Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard-of slump in electricity use,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. “It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.”

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