CO₂ emissions rebounded (+5.4%), counterbalancing the previous effects of the COVID-19 crisis (-4.5% in 2020).

The surge in CO₂ emissions, driven by the global economic recovery, led to an acceleration in growth compared to the historical trend (+1.9%/year over 2000-2019). Worldwide CO₂ emissions rebounded by 5.4 % and reached their record level (33 GtCO₂). Among top emitters, Australia is the only country where CO₂ emissions followed a downwards trend (-3.6%) mainly due to a 4.3% contraction in the power sector (decrease of coal and gas-fired power plants’ share in production to the benefit of solar and wind). Japanese CO₂ emissions growth remained controlled (+0.8%). A significant CO₂ emissions surge can be observed in Brazil (+14%, increased use of gas-fired power plants, surge of consumption in the transport sector mainly based on oil), in Russia (+9.5%, record gas demand especially in the power and industry sectors); and to a lesser extent in the US (+6.2%). In Russia alone, the increase (+156 MtCO₂) is nearly as high as the increase within the whole EU, where Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands contributed to more than 70% of the CO₂ emissions growth. Chinese CO₂ emissions reached their all-time high (+6.3%, 10,4 GtCO₂) due to the skyrocketing power demand in 2021 (+10%), coupled with the deterioration of the CO₂ factor in power production (commissioning of around 7GW of coal-fired power plants in 2021).