CO2 emissions from fossil fuels set to hit record in 2024: Study

Key climate change temperature limit could be breached by 2030

- David Fogarty

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels are predicted to reach a record in 2024, setting the world on course to breach a key climate change temperature limit by 2030, a study released on Nov 13 found.

The study by the Global Carbon Project, an international scientific consortium, predicts CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels will increase by 0.8 per cent from 2023 to reach 37.4 billion tonnes in 2024.

Despite progress in clean energy investment globally, especially record investment in China, growth in natural gas and oil use is the main driver pushing up global fossil emissions.

Emission growth in 2024 indicates that "the massive investment in renewable energy is still not big enough to meet the increase in energy demand, let alone to start curving down global emissions towards the net-zero emission target", said Dr Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project. He was referring to the global goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Deforestation, wildfires and peatland degradation are also adding extra CO2 to the atmosphere and heating up the planet, said the analysis.

Released during the COP29 United Nations climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, the study comes after a year marked by extreme weather events, from back-to-back hurricanes in Florida to deadly floods in Spain, China and Vietnam, and with 2024 set to be the hottest year on record.