fossil fuel – Page 7 – Desdemona Despair

Change in primary energy by fuel, 2007-2021. Primary energy in 2021 grew by its largest amount in history, with emerging economies accounting for most of the increase. Primary energy grew by 31 exajoules (EJ) in 2021, the largest increase in history and more than reversing the sharp decline seen in 2020. Primary energy in 2021 was 8 EJ above 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy in 2021 was driven by emerging economies, which increased by 13 EJ, with China expanding by 10 EJ. Taking 2020 and 2021 together, primary energy consumption in emerging economies increased by 15 EJ, largely reflecting growth in China (13 EJ). In contrast, energy demand in developed economies in 2021 was 7 EJ below 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy between 2019 and 2021 was entirely driven by renewable energy sources. The level of fossil fuel energy consumption was unchanged between 2019 and 2021, with lower oil demand (-8 EJ) offset by higher natural gas (5 EJ) and coal (3 EJ) consumption. Graphic: BP

June 28, 2022

BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022: Carbon emissions rebound after pandemic dip – Coal prices surge – “The world remains on an unsustainable path”

By Spencer Dale 28 June 2022 (BP) – The challenges and uncertainties facing the global energy system are at their greatest for almost 50 years, at the time of the last great energy shocks of the 1970s. Most immediate is the impact of the terrible events taking place in Ukraine, with its tragic toll on […]

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, 8 March 2022. Photo: Hannibal Hanschke / REUTERS

June 26, 2022

Europe may shift back to coal as Russia turns down gas flows – “If we don’t do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year toward the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level.”

By Vera Eckert and Francesca Landini 20 June 2022 FRANKFURT/MILAN (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest Russian gas buyers raced to find alternative fuel supplies on Monday and could burn more coal to cope with reduced gas flows from Russia that threaten an energy crisis in winter if stores are not refilled. Germany, Italy, Austria and the […]

At this pavement stall, a worker rests as temperatures in May 2022 crossed 45 degrees Celsius. Photo: Anjana Pasricha / VOA

May 29, 2022

India faces wider coal shortages, worsening power-outage risks – Projected annual coal shortage nearly three times earlier projection

By Sudarshan Varadhan 27 May 2022 NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is expected to face a wider coal shortage during the quarter ending September 2022 over expectations of higher power demand, an internal power ministry presentation seen by Reuters showed, worsening risks of widespread power outages. The energy-hungry nation expects local coal supply to fall […]

Map showing land surface temperature across most of India, 29 April 2022. In Spring 2022, India faced a prolonged heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 42°C in numerous cities across the country. This came just weeks after India recorded its hottest March since the country’s meteorological department began its records over 120 years ago. This image, produced using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, shows the land surface temperature across most of the nation. According to the India Meteorological Department, maximum air temperatures reached 43-46°C over most parts of Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh; in many parts over Gujarat, interior Odisha; and in some parts of Madhya Maharashtra on 28 April 2022. Graphic: ESA

May 23, 2022

A hot, deadly summer is coming in 2022 with frequent blackouts – “We really expect these problems to get worse in the next five years”

By Dan Murtaugh, Rajesh Kumar Singh, and Naureen S. Malik 22 May 2022 (Bloomberg) – Global power grids are about to face their biggest test in decades with electricity generation strangled in the world’s largest economies. War, drought, shortages, historically low inventories, and a pandemic backlash: energy markets across the planet have been put through […]

People sleep on the dried-up Yamuna riverbed under a bridge during a heatwave in New Delhi, India, 2 May 2022. Photo: Adnan Abidi / REUTERS

May 7, 2022

Extreme heat in India threatens nation’s electrical system as coal supply runs out – India to reopen more than 100 coal mines – “Excessive demand has caused power outages of up to 16 hours in a single day in certain areas of the country”

6 May 2022 (El Pais) – The ongoing extreme heat that India has been facing for weeks has pushed an important part of its population to the limit of survival while risking their electrical system, which still relies almost 70% on coal. During March and April of 2022, the country registered its highest average maximum […]

Fires burn and smoke pours into the night sky at the scene of an explosion at an illegal crude oil bunkering site at Abaezi forest, in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo state, Nigeria, 23 April 2022. More than 100 people lost their lives. Photo: REUTERS

April 24, 2022

“National disaster”: Blast at illegal Nigerian oil refinery kills more than 100 people – Nigerian President vows to clamp down on illegal refineries after “catastrophe”

YENAGAO, Nigeria, April 24 (Reuters) – Charred bodies were left scattered among burnt palms, cars and vans on Sunday after a weekend explosion which killed more than 100 people at an illegal oil refining depot on the border of Nigeria’s Rivers and Imo states. Flip flops, bags, and clothing belonging to those who died littered […]

ITV Host Richard Madeley and student activist Miranda Whelehan on “Good Morning Britain” on Monday, 11 April 2022. Whelehan was there on behalf of “Just Stop Oil”, an activist group that has been engaging in direct action by blockading oil terminals and demanding that the UK government ends all new oil licenses, exploration, and consent in the North Sea. Madeley, the host, criticized the group by saying, “But you’d accept, wouldn’t you, that it’s a very complicated discussion to be had, it’s a very complicated thing. And this ‘Just Stop Oil’ slogan is very playground-ish isn’t it? It’s very Vicky Pollard, quite childish.” Observers were quick to point out the parallels with the film “Don’t Look Up”. Photo: ITV

April 18, 2022

Miranda Whelehan: I went on TV to explain “Just Stop Oil” – and it became a parody of “Don’t Look Up”

By Miranda Whelehan 13 April 2022 (The Guardian) – I hadn’t seen the 2021 satirical film Don’t Look Up when I went on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday. I was there on behalf of Just Stop Oil – a group that has been engaging in direct action by blockading oil terminals. We’re demanding that the UK government ends all new oil […]

Screenshot from “Honest Government Ad: Carbon Credits and Offsets”, showing that 70 to 80 percent of Australia Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) are devoid of integrity, according to Prof. Andrew Macintosh, former chair of Australia’s Emission Reduction Assurance Committee. Photo: The Juice Media

April 14, 2022

Honest Government Ad: Carbon credits and offsets – “Imagine that your money was actually being spent on strippers and coke!”

10 April 2022 (The Juice Media) – Hello, I’m from the Australien Government. You know how when you book a flight you can pay a little extra money to offset your emissions? Well, now imagine that your money was actually being spent on strippers and coke! Except the strippers are our mates, and the coke […]

Monthly mean atmospheric methane abundance, 1983-2021. The globally-averaged, monthly mean atmospheric methane abundance is determined from marine surface sites. Values for 2021 are preliminary. Graphic: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

April 14, 2022

Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021 – Carbon dioxide levels also record a big jump – “The evidence is consistent, alarming, and undeniable”

7 April 2022 (NOAA) – For the second year in a row, NOAA scientists observed a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful, heat-trapping greenhouse gas that’s the second biggest contributor to human-caused global warming after carbon dioxide. NOAA’s preliminary analysis showed the annual increase in atmospheric methane during 2021 was 17 […]

Global net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions projected to 2050. Projected global GHG emissions from Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) announced prior to COP26 would make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C and also make it harder after 2030 to limit warming to below 2°C. Graphic: IPCC

April 5, 2022

Amid backsliding on climate, the renewables effort now must be tripled – “A litany of broken climate promises”

By António Guterres 4 April 2022 (The Washington Post) – A report released Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises. Together with the IPCC’s previous two reports on physical science and adaptation in the past year, it reveals the yawning gap between climate pledges and reality. And the reality is that we are […]