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Atmospheric CO2

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Source: NOAA ESRL

IMF: Global fossil fuel subsidies are over 7% of global BNP

September 5, 2023

In the working paper IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update the authors write: "Globally, fossil fuel subsidies were $7 trillion in 2022 or 7.1 percent of GDP. Explicit subsidies (undercharging for supply costs) have more than doubled since 2020 but are still only 18 percent of the total subsidy, while nearly 60 percent is due to undercharging for global warming and local air pollution"

The paper contains a country-level update of explicit and implicit fossil fuel subsidies, summarized in this downloadble spreadsheet

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National Centers for Environmental Information: World ocean heat content is increasing

August 29, 2023

NCEI is part of the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In their own words, "NCEI provides environmental data, products, and services covering the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun to drive resilience, prosperity, and equity for current and future generations."

Several useful datasets are provided on the NCEI/NOAA website. This chart shows the increase in world ocean heat content since 1955, from surface level down to a depth of 700 meters. Multiple datasets relating to this issue can be found at Ocean heat content, salt content, and sea level anomalies

The y-axis shows the total heat content in units of 1022 Joules.

Further reading:

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Bloomberg: China will reach 'peak gasoline' in 2023 due to high Electric Vehicle sales

August 29, 2023

According to a Bloomberg article China will reach "peak gasoline" in 2023 as sales of electric vehicles increase.

Statistics from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show the development in sales of passenger cars in the first six months of each of the last four years, broken down into three categories:

  • ICEV (internal combustion engine vehicles)
  • BEV (battery electric vehicles)
  • PHEV (plug-in hybrid vehicles)
Units are in 1000's of cars.

Further reading:

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IEA: Global fossil fuel consumption subsidies doubled from 2021 to 2022, reaching an all-time high of USD 1 trillion

August 24, 2023

According to a IEA February 2023 report global fossil fuel consumption subsidies doubled from the previous year to an all-time high of USD 1 trillion.

The IEA estimates subsidies by comparing the price of fossil fuels on international markets with the prices paid by consumers. Prices may be kept artifically low through price regulation, border controls, taxes, domestic purchase or supply mandates.

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OECD and IEA: Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals

August 24, 2023

According to a study by OECD and IEA government support for fossil fuels in 51 major economies almost doubled in 2021, up from USD362Bn in 2020 to USD697Bn in 2021.

The IEA estimates subsidies by comparing the price of fossil fuels on international markets with the prices paid by consumers. Prices may be kept artifically low through price regulation, border controls, taxes, domestic purchase or supply mandates. The OECD looks at budgetary transfers and tax breaks linked to production and use of fossil fuels.

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IEA: EU electricity consumers are expected to save an estimated EUR 100 billion during 2021-2023 thanks to additional electricity generation from newly installed solar PV and wind capacity

Aug 8, 2023

Data from IEA's Renewable Energy Market Update 2023 show that consumers in EU will save EUR 100 billion during 2021-2023 due to new low-cost deployments of solar and wind farms. This renewable electricity generation has replaced 230 TWh of more expensive fossil fuel electricity generation since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Without these new renewable electricity deployments the average wholesale price of electricity in EU would have been 8% higher.

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IEA: Distributed solar PV installations are booming worldwide

Aug 2, 2023

IEA reports that distributed solar power installations are growing worldwide. Distributed solar is defined as small solar PV installations for residential, commercial, industrial and off-grid applications.

The growth in distributed solar represents 48% of global solar PV additions.

More information is available in IEA's June 2023 Renewable Energy Market Update

The data for years 2023 and 2024 are projections.

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UK North Sea Transition Authority: Domestically produced gas is on average almost four times cleaner than importing gas in LNG form

Aug 1, 2023

The UK's NSTA - North Sea Transition Authority writes: "Domestically produced gas is on average almost four times cleaner than importing gas in LNG form. This is because of both the way the gas is transferred and, in some cases, the methods of extraction."

Further: "Gas extracted from the UK has an average emission intensity of 21 kgCO2e/boe; whereas imported LNG has a significantly higher average intensity of 79 kgCO2e/boe."

Some may find the statement "Domestically produced gas is on average almost four times cleaner than importing gas in LNG form" misleading as it does not take into account the emissions during combustion of the gas. Combustion of 1 boe natural gas will emit about 344 kg CO2.

The NSTA chart compares the CO2 emissions for LNG produced in various countries and shipped to UK and regasified. 1 boe - barrel oil equivalent - equals 125 kg natural gas.

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CarbonTracker: Solar and wind energy potential is 100 times as much as global energy demand. Solar panels on 0.3% of global land area is sufficient to power the world

July 31, 2023

The Carbon Tracker report "The Sky's the limit" finds that while global energy demand (2019) was 65 PWh, current solar and wind technology is able to capture 6700 PWh which is more than 100 times global energy demand. 1 PWh equals 1000 TWh.

The report further says "The land required for solar panels alone to provide all global energy is 450,000 km2, 0.3% of the global land area of 149 million km2. That is less than the land required for fossil fuels today, which in the US alone is 126,000 km2, 1.3% of the country."

The chart shows how much of available land would be required for a country or region to power itself using only solar and wind, using currently available technology.

Additional reading:

  • Forbes - How rooftop solar could power the world. All rooftops in the world (0.2 million sq km) could generate 27 PWh using solar panels
  • MIT Technology Review - There is sufficient raw materials to power the world with renewables but unless it is responsibly mined the result may be environmental harm or human rights violations
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Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy 2023: Nuclear is the only technology increasing in cost over time

July 19, 2023

The chart shows the development of cost of energy over time. The units are USD per MWH. Key observations:

  • New nuclear power plants are increasing in costs
  • Other technologies are showing a decreasing cost over time
  • There is a considerable increase in costs from 2021 to 2023 for all technologies except Gas Peaking

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Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy 2023: Solar and Wind least expensive for new builds

July 19, 2023

In April 2023 the financial services company Lazard published the 16th annual analysis of the cost of electricity production.

  • Solar and onshore wind are the least expensive technologies. Utility scale solar costs between $24 and $96 per MWh, and utility scale wind between $24 and $75 per MWh
  • Solar with storage and wind with storage is becoming competitive with gas combined cycle
  • At utility scale, nuclear is the most expensive technology, with a levelized cost between $141 and $221 per MWh
Some important considerations:
  • Nuclear: the figures are based on the Vogtle new build reactors in Georgia, and includes decomissioning costs
  • Gas: fuel costs are assumed to be USD 3.45 per MMBTU
  • Coal: The high end figure includes the cost of 90% carbon capture and sequestration
  • Gas peaking: Peaking power plants are switched on during peak demand and often have lower efficiency than combined cycle gas plants running in baseload mode
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UNECE: Land use ranges for electricity generation

May 30, 2023

United Nations Economic Comission for Europe, UNECE, has published a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis of environmental impacts for various electricity generation technologies. The study includes everything from mining, transport, power plant building, operations and so on. The study also covers toxicity, radiation, land occupation, and water use.

Key points:

  • Nuclear is the most land-efficient
  • Coal requires land due to mining
  • Concentrating solar is the least land-efficient
  • Solar varies a lot due to geography and capacity factors
  • Roof mounted solar uses very little additional land
  • Wind is assumed to use little land, if area between towers can be used for other purposes
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IEA: Global energy investment

May 29, 2023

In their latest report, IEA states that "The recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the response to the global energy crisis have provided a major boost to global clean energy investment".

According to the IEA, about USD2.8Bn will be invested in energy globally in 2023, with over USD1.7Bn going to clean energy, outpacing the USD1Bn investment in fossil fuels. Clean energy includes renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps.

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IPCC Special Report Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage: The impact of carbon capture on fossil fuel based electricity generation

February 4, 2023

The IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage has a good overview of the costs of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, CCS.

The assumption is 90% CO2 capture rate for power plants of 400-800MW in size. The report shows that with carbon capture, a new Natural Gas Combined Cycle plant requires 11-22% more fuel in order to generate the same amount of electricity. This is equivalent to a 10-18% reduction in generating efficency. This is due to the power needed for the carbon capture process.

A new Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Coal plant will require 14-25% more fuel (equivalent to 12-20% reduction in efficiency), while a new supercritical Pulverized Coal plant will require 24-40% more fuel (19-28% reduction in efficiency).

For coal plants, the additional use of fuel implies an increase in other emissions, such as particles, soot, sulphur, ionizing radiation and more.

Note that the figures include compression of CO2 but not transport or final storage.

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UNECE: Lifecycle GHG emissions ranges for electricity generation

February 2, 2023

United Nations Economic Comission for Europe, UNECE, has published a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis of greenhouse gas emission ranges for various electricity generation technologies. The study includes everything from mining, transport, power plant building, operations and so on. The study also covers toxicity, radiation, land occupation, and water use. Key findings:

  • Coal: IGCC plants in the US show the lowest emissions, 751 gCO2, whereas pulverised coal plants in China are at 1095 gCO2
  • Natural Gas: Combined cycle plants are 403-513 gCO2, with CCS anywhere from 49 to 220 gCO2. For CCS, 90% of CO2 is captured. The LCA includes capture and compression. Methane leakage is accounted for
  • Nuclear Power: the fuel chain (uranium mining, processing etc) represents the largest share of emissions
  • Hydropower: Emissions are very site specific and show high variability
  • Solar and wind: Most of the emissions are embodied in the infrastructure.
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Fraunhofer Institute: Hydrogen fuel cells will not play a major role in road transport

December 22, 2022

An analysis by Fraunhofer Institute shows that battery electric drives are superior to hydrogen fuel cells for commercial road transport.

The study shows that battery electric drive is superior in terms of electricity efficiency: 75% of the electrical energy reaches the wheels compared to only 25% in fuel cell vehicles. Electrical loss in electrolysis and in the fuel cell are to blame.

Furthermore, with megawatt charging becoming standardized in 2023, and with EU regulations requiring truck drivers to stop for 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving, a range of 450 km would suffice with charging during the 45 minute breaks.

The author of the study also points out that cost of ownership will be higher for fuel cell electric trucks.

Truck manufacturer Scania states that "We see that battery electric solutions are the first zero-tailpipe emission technology to reach market broadly. For the customer, a battery electric vehicle requires less service than a conventional one, meaning higher uptime and improved costs per km or hour of operations"

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US Dept of Energy: Maintenance costs for Electric Vehicles far lower than for combustion engine vehicles

December 11, 2022

The US Dept of Energy report from June 14 2021 concludes that scheduled maintenance costs for battery electric vehicles are 6.1 cents/mile, while a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle has costs of 10.1 cents/mile. Fewer moving parts and fewer fluids explain the differences in maintenance costs.

Abbreviations used:

  • ICEV - Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle
  • HEV - Hybrid Electric Vehicle
  • PHEV - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
  • BEV - Battery Electric Vehicle
Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid vehicles have maintenance costs almost as high as battery electric vehicles. This seems reasonable given the added drivetrain complexity.
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UCS: There are enough reserves to electrify the global transportation sector using current technology if a high amount of battery recycling occurs.

November 22, 2022

UCS - Union of Concerned Scientists presents research which shows that there are enough reserves of lithium, cobolt and nickel if recycling of EV batteries is scaled up.

Without recycling, demand in 2060 will exceed available cobolt reserves and will require about 90% of lithium reserves. Important: 'Reserves' are resources that are economical to extract. Without recycling, material costs will increase.

Recycling also has environmental benefits: "By using recycled instead of newly mined materials, reduction of climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions is approximately 64%"

The chart shows that almost half of the cobolt and nickel and a quarter of the lithium required in the US in 2050 can be supplied through recycling of used EV batteries.

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IEA Global Methane Tracker: Methane is responsible for about 30% of the current rise in global temperature

November 21, 2022

IEA Global Methane Tracker 2022 states that reduction in methane (CH4) emissions are key to limit near-term warming and to improve air quality. Annual global methane emissions are around 580 Mt, of which 40% is from natural sources such as wetlands. The remaining 60% is from human activity.

The global warming impact of methane is 28 times that of CO2 in a 100-year perspective, and 80 times theat of CO2 in a 20-year perspective. In other words, 580 Mt CH4 emissions equals 16.24 Gt CO2 in a 100-year perspective.

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Total greenhouse gas emissions

November 21 2022

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency presents an overview of total greenhouse gas emissions for the last 50 years. This includes CO2 methane (CO4) nitrous oxide (N20) and fluorinated gases (F-gases).

Global emissions decreased by 3.7% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic recession.

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Global Carbon Project: CO2 emissions by region

November 17, 2022

The November 11 report from Global Carbon Project includes data on emissions from countries and regions of the world.

Note that this chart does not include land-use or land-use change emissions, and it does not include any other greenhouse-gas emissions.

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Global Carbon Project: CO2 emissions back at pre-pandemic levels, expecting 1% increase in emissions in 2022

November 16, 2022

In the November 11 report from Global Carbon Project we see that global CO2 emissions are back at pre-pandemic levels.

"Preliminary data for 2022 show an increase in fossil CO2 emissions relative to 2021 of +1.0% (range 0.1% to 1.9%) globally, primarily driven by growth in oil use from the delayed rebound of aviation since the COVID-19 pandemic."

Global Carbon Project says that the rate of emissions increase has been about 0.5% in the last decade, compared to a rate of increase of 3% per year in the decade prior.

Note that this chart does not include land-use or land-use change emissions, and it does not include any other greenhouse-gas emissions.

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CO2 levels over the last 420 000 years

November 16, 2022

This chart contains three datasets:

  • The "Vostok" ice core drilled in Antarctica in 1998 as a collaborative project between France, Russia and USA. The CO2 data goes back over 400.000 years, and shows how CO2 levels in the air has varied between 180 and 280ppm through four climate cycles.
  • The "Law Dome" dataset from three ice cores drilled at Law Dome, Antarctica, which shows the atmospheric CO2 levels over the last 2000 years. The "Law Dome" project also has data on atmospheric CH4 (methane) and N20.
  • The "Mauna Loa" dataset for the last 50 years, from NOAA/Earth Systems Research Labs
The datasets show the dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2 levels since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

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Norway: Solar PV installation by month

October 23, 2022

energiogklima.no reports record installation of Solar PV panels in Norway. Data from shows a strong increase with 16 MW of capacity installed in the month of July, 2022. Total installed Solar PV capacity in Norway is now about 250 MW.

According to the the web-site, the record high cost of electric power is the main driver for the growth in Solar PV installations.

Norway still lags far behind Sweden and Denmark. Installed capacity in Sweden was 1798 MW at end of 2021, and in Denmark it was 2344 MW end of 2021.

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Carbon Capture and Storage in 2022: CCS captures about 0.1% of global CO2 emissions. Most of the captured CO2 is used to extract more oil

October 18,2022

According to Global CCS Institute there are 30 large-scale CCS projects in operation at end-of-2021, capturing 42.6 million tons CO2 annually, an increase over 2019 (38 MtCO2). The captured CO2 is about 0.1% of global CO2 emissions.

Most of the captured CO2 is used for EOR - Enhanced Oil Recovery: Injection of CO2 into oil wells in order to extract more oil. IEA estimates that this accounts for an extra 500.000 barrels of oil per day, which equals 78 million tons CO2 emissions per year.

According to Carbon capture and storage at the end of a lost decade in order to meet IEA's sustainable development scenario, 5.6 gigatonnes CO2 per year must be captured and stored by 2050.

The chart lists all commercial operational CCS projects as of 2022.

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WWF/ZSL Living Planet Index: Populations of monitored wildlife reduced by 69% on average since 1970

October 16, 2022

In the Living Planet Report 2022 WWF and ZSL (Zoological Society of London) writes that the relative abundance of wildlife populations has been reduced by 69% since 1970. Latin America is hardest hit with a 94% reduction in wildlife. Freshwater wildlife has seen the greatest global decline with 83%

The Index tracks almost 32000 wildlife populations.

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Atmospheric CO2 levels are increasing

September 24, 2022

NOAA/ESRL (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth Systems Research Laboratory) operates the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, and are collects atmospheric data every hour since the 1950s. The data shows how atmospheric CO2 levels are steadily increasing. In pre-industrial times, the CO2 levels varied between 180ppm and 280ppm.

Notice the saw-tooth pattern in the chart: There are more forests in the Northern hemisphere than in the Southern hemisphere. During the northern winter, the forests release CO2 to the atmospere. When spring comes in the north, forests starts consuming CO2 as part of photosynthesis and this reduces the level in the atmosphere.

The chart is updated monthly.

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CarbonBrief: Overview of 20 studies of GHG emissions from electric-car battery production. Electricity mix at manufacturing location matters

August 9, 2022

CarbonBrief has summarized 20 studies on emissions from electric-car battery production. One of the findings is that the manufacturing location is an important factor in determining the CO2-footprint of these batteries. As some Asian countries rely more on coal for electricity generation, the result is that batteries made in Asia have a bigger CO2-footprint than batteries made in Europe or USA.

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IEA: Strong economic growth, cold winter, warmer summer - electricity generation increased by more than 6% in 2021, the largest increase since 2010

August 7, 2022

IEA reports that global electricity demand increased by more than 6% in 2021, straining supply chains for coal and gas resulting in increased prices.

The chart shows the year-on-year change in electricity generation. The numbers for 2022 and later are IEA estimates.

The biggest increase in electricity generation came from coal power plants.

Units are in terawatt hours, TWh

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Lice cycle analysis of LNG exported from USA to Europe/Asia for electricity generation

August 5, 2022

NETL published an updated life cycle analysis LNG export from the US to Europe, with comparisons to regional Eurpoean coal and Russian pipeline gas.

The units are gram CO2 equivalents per kWh of electricity generated.

This chart shows the emissions in a 20-year global warming time frame. The data for coal is for regionally produced coal. A key assumption is 4.1% leakage rate for Russian pipeline gas

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Life cycle analysis of LNG exported from USA to Europe/Asia for electricity generation

August 5, 2022

NRDC has analysed five life cycle studies of green house gas emissions from gas produced in USA, exported to Europe and Asia, and then used for electricity generation. The studies were from

  • National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • University of Calgary
  • The Spark Library
The units are gram CO2 equivalents per kWh of electricity generated.

A key difference in the studies are the methane leakage rates: Carnegie Mellon assumes 2-4%, NETL assumes 0.7 to 1.6% leakage.

This chart shows the emissions in a 20-year global warming time frame. The data for coal is for regionally produced coal.

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CEENERGYNEWS: Pipeline gas vs LNG, climate impact

August 4, 2022 | Updated November 16, 2022

CEENERGYNEWS refers to a study by Sphera, which shows that the environmental impact of LNG imports to South-East Europe are vastly higher than pipeline gas imports. The study looked at LNG imports from Algeria, Australia, Qatar, and USA, which had between 61% and 176% more emissions than pipeline gas imports from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline.

Liquefaction of gas is the main reason. However, the LNG carrier (ship) is also a major contributor for imports from Australia and USA simply because of the fuel used by the ships.

  • Numbers are for a 100 year global warming potential
  • Units are gram CO2 equivalents per MJ (megajoule) of primary energy
  • The chart does not include the emissions from electricity generation
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CO2 emissions per kWh of electricity for different fuels and technologies

August 4, 2022

Dr Volker Quaschning, Professor for renewable energy systems at Berlin University of Applied Sciences lists the specific CO2 emissions for different fuels for 1 kWh of electricity produced.

The emissions calculations "include upstream chain emissions", and are from the publication UBA 2019 - Emissionsbilanz erneuerbarer Energieträger 2018 (p. 42f.)

UBA is the German Environment Agency, a federal government agency.

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EIA: CO2 emissions per kWh of US electricity generation

August 4, 2022

The US Energy Information Agency EIA writes: In 2020, US power plants burning coal, oil and gas generated about 62% of total electricity generation, and accounted for 99% of US electricity related CO2-emissions.

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Standard emissions factors for some common fossil fuels

August 4, 2022

This chart is an excerpt of a list regularly published by Netherlands Enterprise Agency, we have used the January 2020 version.

The units are grams CO2 per MJ of energy. This is of course the same as kilograms of CO2 per GJ of energy.

The various grades of coal ranked from high to low are: Anthracite (hard coal), Coking coal, Bitumenous coal, Subbitumenous coal, Lignite (brown coal).

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Greenhouse gas emissions Norway: Emissions in 2021 same as 2020

July 3, 2022

While CO2 emissions have increased from 35 to 41 million tons per year since 1990, emissions of perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from the aluminum and magnesium industries are now close to 0. Emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) from air-con and cooling systems have increased, but this should be sharply reduced soon as new coolants with lower global warming potential are used. More on this at Ministry of Climate and Environment.

Oil and gas production represents about 27% of total Norwegian emissions. These emissions are expected to be reduced in the future at the cost of higher global emissions, when on-shore hydroelectric power replaces off-shore gas turbines for powering oil and gas extraction. Numbers are in million tons CO2 equivalents.

Norway has committed to reducing emissions in 2030 by 50% compared to 1990.

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Global Carbon Project: CO2 emissions from fossil fuels decreased by 5.4% in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Emissions are expected to rebound close to pre-Covid levels in 2021.

Updated June 13, 2022

According to fossil fuel and cement production emissions data provided by the Global Carbon Project there was a record decrease in emissions in 2020, 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2). Emissions are projected to grow 4.9% in 2021, or 1.6 GtCO2.

While emissions for EU and USA will remain under 2019 levels in 2021, emissions from China are projected to be 5.5% above 2019 levels in 2021. Coal remains the number one source of CO2.

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BloombergNEF: Cost of battery packs reduced by 80% since 2013

April 13, 2022

BloombergNEF's annual battery price survey finds that battery packs fell by 6% from 2020 to 2021 and by 80% from 2013 to 2021. However they also write that increasing commodity prices are having an impact on prices in the near term.

The survey looks at battery packs and battery cells for electric vehicles, buses and energy storage projects. Battery pack prices were lowest in China at $111 per kWh, prices in US and EU were 40 to 60% higher.

BloombergNEF also says: "...by 2024 average pack prices should be below $100/kWh. It is at around this price point that automakers should be able to produce and sell mass-market EVs at the same price (and with the same margin) as comparable internal combustion vehicles in some markets"

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Cost of EU Emissions Allowances

March 3, 2022 | Chart updates daily

The EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) covers all EU member states plus Norway and Liechtenstein. Companies in the power generation and manufacturing sectors are required by EU law to purchase emission allowances for their greenhouse gas emissions. These allowances may be traded on the open market. There is a cap on the number of allowances in the market. The number of allowances is reduced over time, forcing a reduction in emissions.

The chart shows the market closing price of WisdomTree Carbon ETC (exchange traded commodity) which is designed to track the value of EU Emissions Allowances. The Y-axis is the approximate price per EU Emissions Allowance in Euros per ton of CO2-equivalents.

The major drop in price in late February 2022 was due to the russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Cost of Energy Production in Norway, 2021 and 2030: Onshore wind least expensive. Solar less expensive than fossil-fuels

February 11, 2022

NVE, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, regularly updates assumptions on energy production for various technologies. The chart is based on data from January 31, 2022.

The chart shows LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) for new installations in 2021 and 2030, in NOK per kWh. LCOE is the cost per kWh for the entire lifetime of a new electricity generating plant, and includes investments, operations and fuels. LCOE excludes tax incentives.

Onshore wind is currently the least expensive energy source for new installations, and will continue to decrease in cost dramatically over the next decade. Perhaps surprisingly, even in Norway solar photovoltaic ground installations are becoming competitive and will be less expensive than all other electricity sources except for onshore wind.

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Atmospheric methane levels are increasing

Novermber 2, 2021 | Chart updates monthly

Methane (CH4) is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a global heating potential 25 times that of CO2. Sources of methane are natural gas manufacturing, agriculture, waste management, coal mining and more. About two thirds of methane emissions are from human activities. NOAA tracks the atmospheric levels of methane using a global network of monitoring sites.

The US Environmental Protection Agency EPA has a good overview of the various greehouse gases and their impact.

Methane levels are measured in ppb (parts per billion). The chart is updated monthly.

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World population will stabilize at about 11 billion in 2100

Noveber 1, 2021

World population is currently 7.7 billion. The UN projects that the number of people on earth will reach about 11 billion in year 2100, and will then remain stable.

Virtually all the future population growth will be in Africa, where the population will grow by 3 billion from 1.3 to 4.3 billion.

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Global gas production is accelerating

Updated May 15, 2023

According to 2022 data from the US Energy Information Administration EIA, global production of natural gas is accelerating. Other charts on our site confirm this, and show that gas is in fact the main driver of increased CO2 emissions globally, ahead of coal and oil.

The chart shows a significant decline in gas production in 2020 because of the global pandemic. There is also a noticeable dip in 2009 due to the finance crisis which started in 2008.

Production numbers are in BCM - Billion cubic meters

Note: EIA uses the term Eurasia to denote the countries in the former Soviet Union

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Coal production almost at 2013 levels

Updated May 15, 2023

According to 2022 data from the US Energy Information Administration EIA, global coal production declined in 2020 compared to 2019, due to the global pandemic. In 2021, production was back up, very close to peak coal production in 2013.

China alone represents 45% of total global coal production. US coal production is slowly declining.

The chart shows annual coal production in million metric tons since 1980. For more on peak coal, read Forbes article on coal demand

Note: EIA uses the term Eurasia to denote the countries in the former Soviet Union

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Will the Covid-19 pandemic cause a reduction in atmospheric CO2 levels? No.

October 29, 2021

With reduced travel and reduced economic activity, global CO2 emissions might be lower than previous years. However, even slightly reduced CO2 emissions add to the overall CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

The chart uses data from NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, Colorado, USA and shows the atmospheric CO2 levels for each of the last 10 years. Ever since measurements started there has been a consistent increase in atmospheric CO2 of about 0.5 - 0.6% per year.

The atmospheric CO2 levels continues increasing year over year, as indicated by the upper line in the chart. This chart is updated daily based on measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory.

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Global electricity generation, steady increase in Asia

Updated May 15, 2023

This chart is based on data from the US Energy Information Administration EIA. The increase in global electricity generation is mainly due to China.

Figures in this chart are in 1000 TWh (terawatt hours)

Note: EIA uses the term Eurasia to denote the countries in the former Soviet Union

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Electricity generation: Natural gas is 100 times more deadly than renewables. Coal is 1000 times more deadly than renewables

October 7, 2021

University of Oxford's Our World in Data has looked at the number of deaths per TWh (terawatt-hour) of electricity generated from different sources. Data includes accidents and longer term effects due to pollution and radiation, but does not include effects of CO2 emissions and global warming. Brown coal is the deadliest power-generator with more than 32 deaths per TWh, mainly due to air pollution. This is 1000 times as many deaths as wind, hydro and solar. For the same amount of energy generated, even natural gas causes about 100 times as many deaths as renewable sources.

Nuclear power has a relatively low mortality rate, even when the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents are included. Our World in Data uses the IAEA/WHO estimate for Chernobyl-related deaths, 4000. This chart uses a higher estimate, 45.000, based on the TORCH report

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Global oil production: almost 100 mb/d (million barrels per day) in 2019, 92 mb/d in 2020 due to Covid-19

Updated May 15, 2021

According to April 30 2021 data from the US Energy Information Administration EIA, global oil production is now about 92 million barrels per day, down from 98 mb/d in 2019.

According to the International Energy Agency IEA , global oil demand will reach 104 million barrels per day in 2026. The growth in demand will come from emerging and developing countries, with Asian oil demand increasing sharply. OECD demand is not expected to return to pre-Covid levels.

Note: EIA uses the term Eurasia to denote the countries in the former Soviet Union

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And now some good news: The ozone hole is (slowly) shrinking

February 23, 2021

Ozone is a colorless gas present in the upper atmosphere which absorbs UV radiation from the sun. Reduced atmospheric ozone leads to sunburn, eye damage and skin cancer. Without any ozone at all there would be no life on earth. CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) gases typically used in refrigerators destroy ozone molecules. In 1989, all UN members ratified the Montreal Protocol , agreeing to phase out the production of ozone depleting gases.

NASA Ozone Watch tracks the size of the ozone hole over the Antarctic and the Arctic. The Antarctic ozone hole reaches its peak size in September/October. The chart shows the mean size of the hole during this period, in millions of square km.

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Arctic temperatures are increasing faster than the global average: +5° since 1900

April 30, 2021

Data from The Norwegian Meteorological Institute and The Norwegian Centre for Climate Services indicate that temperatures in the Arctic, as measured at Svalbard Airport (78.24 degrees North), are now at least 5°C higher than 50-100 years ago. The increased temperature in the Arctic leads to thawing of the permafrost, which in turn releases CO2 and methane currently trapped in the permafrost.

Annual mean temperature for 1961-1990 was -6.7°C according to yr.no

The report Climate in Svalbard 2100 by NCCS is an excellent overview of future climate impact in the Arctic.

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Sea levels have increased 250mm since 1880, current rate of increase: 50mm per decade

April 30, 2021

Global mean sea levels have increased by over 200mm since the late 1800's. Data from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is updated continously and show a statistically significant acceleration since measurements started.

The dataset covering 1880-2009 is based on measurements from a large number of stations (38 stations in 1900, 235 stations in the 1980s). The dataset from 1993 and onwards uses satellite technology. Units in mm (millimeters). Chart is updated monthly.

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Food production and greenhouse gas emissions: Data from 119 countries and 38000 farms

April 30, 2021

Ourworldindata has an excellent article based on Poore and Nemecek 2018, based on data from 38000 farms in 119 countries. This is the most thorough analysis of farming and green house gas emissions to date.

The data represents global averages, hence there may be significant local differences. Interestingly, at a global level transport represents a small amount of the GHG emissions.

The data also shows that nuts and a few other foods have a negative land use change figure, as carbon is stored in the trees. Most other food sources require deforestation.

Data is reported as greenhouse gas emissions in kilograms of CO2-equivalents per 1 kilogram of food product.

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Plastic Waste: Top Countries 2016

April 29 2021

According to research by K.L.Law et.al. the top plastic waste producing countries in the world are USA and United Kingdom. USA generates 130 kg plastic waste per person every year - this is about 2.5 kg per person per week.

While EU citizens generate less than half of the waste compared to Americans it is still more than 1 kg per week for every person. India and China are also big polluters but not on a per capita basis with about 20 kg and 16 kg per person per year.

The units in this chart are kg per person per year.

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OECD/FAO: US meat consumption at 3 times world average and 30 times that of some developing countries

April 27, 2021

OECD/FAO agricultural outlook shows how western countries consume far more meat than the world average. Top meat consuming countries are USA, Israel, Argentina, Australia with 90-100 kg meat per capita per year. Argentina is the top beef-consuming country with almost 40 kg beef per capita. Israel is top poultry consumer with 64 kg per capita.

Consumption data is reported in kilograms per capita, using ready-to-cook retail weight.

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OECD/FAO: Global meat consumption keeps increasing, but consumption in 2019 was reduced due to African Swine Fever outbreak in Asia

April 26, 2021

OECD/FAO agricultural outlook shows how meat consumption is increasing globally. The reduction in consumption in 2019 is due to the African Swine Fever outbreak in Asia.

Consumption data is reported in kilograms per capita, using ready-to-cook retail weight.

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Carbon Capture and Storage in 2020: CCS captures about 0.1% of global CO2 emissions. Most of the captured CO2 is used to extract more oil

April 19, 2021

According to Global CCS Institute there are 26 large-scale CCS projects in operation at end-of-2020, capturing 38 million tons CO2 annually, no increase over 2019. The captured CO2 is less than 0.1% of global CO2 emissions.

Most of the captured CO2 (30 million tons) is used for EOR - Enhanced Oil Recovery: Injection of CO2 into oil wells in order to extract more oil. IEA estimates that this accounts for an extra 500.000 barrels of oil per day, which equals 78 million tons CO2 emissions per year.

According to Carbon capture and storage at the end of a lost decade in order to meet IEA's sustainable development scenario, 5.6 gigatonnes CO2 per year must be captured and stored by 2050.

The chart lists all commercial operational CCS projects as of 2020. Those in red color use captured CO2 for EOR. Those in grey have stopped operations.

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European Medicines Agency: Sales of antibiotics for food-producing animals in 31 European countries

March 25, 2021

A 2020 report from EMA shows that sales of antibiotics declined by 34% between 2011 and 2018. Figures are reported as 'mg per PCU', where 1 PCU is a metric ton of slaughtered animals (includes farmed fish).

Usage of antibiotics varies widely between countries.

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Eindhoven University: Battery electric cars have at least 50% lower life-time CO2 emissions on standard EU electricity mix

March 2, 2021

A 2019 report from Eindhoven University 2019 shows that battery electric cars have significantly lower CO2 emissions compared to similar fossil-fueled cars over their lifetime using the EU electricity mix.

Key assumptions: Driving distance 250.000 km. Battery manufacturing: 85 kg CO2 per kWh. Fossil fuel consumption based on spritmonitor.de and US EPA. Well-to-tank emissions add 30% to tailpipe emissions. Emissions per litre: 3310g (diesel), 3140g (gasoline). EU eletricity generation emissions: 250g CO2e/kWh.

The report assumes an EU electricity mix is used, but also that this electricity mix will continue its trend towards lower CO2 emissions. The Polestar report below does not make this assumption, and probably overestimates the emissions of electric cars.

Units on the Y-axis are number of tons CO2 equivalents.

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Polestar 2 battery electric vehicle life-cycle analysis: Lower CO2 emissions than a comparable petrol/gasoline powered car

March 1, 2021

In their own 2019 report, Polestar says that the Polestar 2 BEV (battery electric vehicle) has lower CO2 emissions during its lifetime than a Volvo XC40 ICE (internal combustion engine).

Assumptions in the report: Cars are driven 200.000 km in their lifetime. Chinese electricity mix is used for Polestar 2 manufacturing. Polestar 78kWh/350kg battery cells are manufactured in China and Korea. Emissions for the XC40 163 gCO2/km includes 'well-to-tank' related emissions for petrol/gasoline. Electricity use Polestar: 198 Wh/km

The report finds that if the electricity is generated by wind power then the Polestar generates less than half of the CO2 emissions of an XC40 petrol/gasoline powered car. If the electricity is generated using an EU electricity mix then the emissions savings over the lifetime of the car is about 27%.

Units on the Y-axis are number of tons CO2 equivalents.

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Bitcoin power consumption is about 0.5% of global electricity consumption

February 17, 2021

This chart shows the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) as estimated by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. While the power used by the Bitcoin blockchain varies with transactions, if Bitcoin power consumption is 120 TWh per year, this is almost 0.5% of global electricity generation which was about 25 000 TWh in 2018 (see another chart on this page).

The chart is updated daily.

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NASA: 2020 and 2016 were the warmest years on record; 1.2°C higher than global average surface temperature in the late 1800's.

January 15, 2021

The NASA GISTEMPv4 dataset shows that the global average surface temperature in 2020 was equal to the temperature in 2016 - these are the two warmest years ever.

The HadCRUT4 dataset from Climatic Research Unit, Univ of East Anglia and Hadley Centre (UK Met Office) shows the same trend. Note that the HadCRUT dataset refers to the average of 1961-1990, so it is slightly offset compared to the NASA dataset. This chart is updated monthly.

The UAH dataset from NSSTC, University of Alabama uses 1981-2010 as the reference so it offset from the other datasets, but is shows a similar increase in global temperatures.

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Electrical and electronic waste in 2019: 7.3 kg per person on earth. Africa: 2.5kg per person, Norway: 24kg per person

October 7, 2020

The Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership has published the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020 which shows that in 2019, the world generated 53.6 million tons of e-waste, or 7.3 kg of e-waste per person on earth.

The amount of e-waste generated has grown by 20% since 2014, and is expected to keep growing. Rich countries generate more e-waste per person than poor countries, with Norway generating the most. About 17.4% of all e-waste is documented to be recycled, unchanged since 2014.

The numbers in the chart are kilograms of waste per capita per year.

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Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector, 2016

September 17, 2021

This chart uses data from World Resources Institute and shows which sectors greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4, N20, etc) emissions originate from.

WRI provides an even more detailed analysis into each sector. As an example, while 15.9% of emissions are from transport, road transport is by far the largest contributor (11.9%) with air transport at 1.9% and ship at 1.7%. Rail contributes only 0.4%

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Covid-19 deaths per million inhabitants: Top 20 countries

September 16, 2020 | Chart updates daily

This chart uses data from Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (JHU CSSE) and shows the current top 20 countries hardest hit by Covid-19 in terms of confirmed deaths per one million inhabitants. Countries with less than 50000 inhabitants are not included.

This chart is updated every 24 hours. JHU CSSE updates their data around midnight UTC, this chart is automatically updated shortly thereafter.

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Covid-19 confirmed deaths per day, averaged over 7 days

September 16, 2020 | Chart updates daily

This chart uses data from Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (JHU CSSE) and shows the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 Coronavirus deaths, averaged over 7 days. The chart is updated every 24 hours.

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Cost of electricity generation in the United States in 2025: Solar photovoltaic least expensive technology

September 10, 2020

A report from the US Energy Information Administration has estimated the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) generation for new plants coming online in the United States in 2025. LCOE includes all aspects of building and running plants such as financial costs, fuel, operations, management and more.

Photovoltaic solar plants will be the least expensive, with roughly the same costs as geothermal, combined cycle natural gas, and onshore wind turbines.

Coal-fired plants will remain an expensive option. As another post on our site shows, offshore wind costs are decreasing rapidly but remain high in the near term.

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Cost of renewable power generation decreasing sharply, now competitive with fossil fuel based power generation

September 9, 2020

IRENA has published a detailed study on the cost of utility-scale power generation at a global level based on renewable resources. The report shows a clear trend in LCOE (levelised cost of electricity, which includes financial costs, operations, management etc) for renewable power generation: New solar and wind power plants are now less expensive than most coal-fired plants. Since 2019, the cost of utility scale solar power has decreased by 82%

According to IRENA, the comparable costs for fossil fuel based power plants varies from 0.05 $/kWh (new Chinese coal-fired plants located close to coal mines) to 0.177 $/kWh.

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