BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.17
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The growth of global coal consumption expected in 2021 put the world further from the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 trajectory, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“However, with supplies being limited in the second half of 2021, consumption would have been even higher if weather conditions, Covid-19 containment measures and low investment in mining in recent years had not constrained coal production. Furthermore, we do not expect (unabated) coal consumption and production to be on the Net Zero by 2050 pathway by 2024,” reads the IEA report.
The report says that although global investment in renewable energy will be strong in the medium and long term, coal supplies are expected to expand until 2024.
“China and India especially plan to invest in their domestic mining capacity to raise the security of their energy supply, while Indonesia and Russia will invest in new export capacity to boost their economic growth in light of coal demand expectations. In short, all evidence indicates a widening gap between political ambitions and targets on one side and the realities of the current energy system on the other. This disconnect has two clear implications: climate targets are getting further out of reach, and energy security is at risk because, while investments in fossil fuels are shrinking, funding for clean energy and technologies is not expanding quickly enough. This should be concerning not only for policymakers and industry, but all stakeholders,” IEA analysts say.
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