The world is burning more fossil fuels to stay cool.
Global greenhouse gas emissions from energy hit a new high in 2024, as searing heat waves helped drive demand for coal and natural gas to new highs, the International Energy Agency said Monday. Record renewable generation, an uptick in nuclear power and rising electric vehicle sales staved off an even greater increase in climate pollution.
But the findings of the agency’s annual energy review underscored the challenge facing humanity: As the world warms, people need more air conditioning to stay cool. And as demand for air conditioning rises, so, too, does the need for electricity.
2024 was the hottest year on record, marked by blistering heat waves in China, India and the United States. Global power demand was up by more than 4 percent as a result, with buildings accounting for 60 percent of that increase, the IEA said. The spike in power demand overwhelmed record renewable installations, pushing global coal generation and natural gas consumption to record highs. The agency estimated that weather was responsible for about half the total rise in global emissions in 2024.
