New growth in CO₂ emissions (+2.1%) after three years of stabilisation

After three years of stagnation linked to weak economic growth, reductions in energy intensity and changes in the fuel mix, global CO₂ emissions grew by 2.1% in 2017. CO₂ emissions remained stable in the United States, in line with its energy consumption, but the strong economic growth pushed China’s coal consumption – and CO₂ emissions – upward, despite its coal-to-gas switching policy that had maintained its emissions stable since 2014.
The global economic growth helped raise energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in most countries, such as India, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Canada or Iran. Adverse hydropower conditions also contributed to the increase in Brazil and Europe (significant 1.9% increase in 2017 compared with a -1.9% average decrease in the past decade; emissions grew particularly in Turkey (higher use of coal), Germany, Spain, Poland and France but fell in the United Kingdom against higher renewable generation.
Conversely, CO₂ emissions decreased in Mexico and in Ukraine, where coal consumption was cut by a higher nuclear generation.