Tough news: global GHG up 5.9% & IEA predicts grim future

Earlier this month two news items rocked me, and I'm still rocking.

The first was the US Government's CO2 Analysis Centre reporting that global emissions had grown 5.9% in the past year. That's the highest ever recorded; it was chilling news. A friend called to say he was going ahead with buying land in Canada for his kids; not an option for most people.

The second bit of news was the release of this year's World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA). It's a horror. Well, it's a good report, but there's some tough news in there. Three snippets:

1. Global primary energy demand will increase by one-third up to 2035, with 90% of the growth in non-OECD economies. Unfortunately we're still building oil and coal-based systems, which leads the IEA to say “The world is locking itself into an unsustainable energy future which would have far-reaching consequences.”

2. On current projections the use of coal for energy rises 65% by 2035. That is very very bad for emissions growth. Oil demand rises 15% by 2035, with all the net growth coming from transport in emerging economies. What chance going electric?

3. IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol: “As each year passes without clear signals to drive investment in clean energy, the 'lock-in' of high-carbon infrastructure is making it harder and more expensive to meet our energy security and climate goals.”

The IEA cheerily adds: “On planned policies, rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change.”

I think the IEA might be trying to tell world governments to change their plans.