The world is adding solar and wind power to the grid. We are driving more and more electric cars. Countries are pledging to cut back fossil fuel use. There are highly visible international conferences on the climate crisis. But despite all of these things, global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen once again in 2023, reaching all-time record high levels of more than 40 billion tons, about 1.1% more than the previous year.
In some places, including Europe and the U.S., fossil fuel CO2 emissions are falling, but globally, they are still rising. Emissions continued to increase in India and China. Global action to cut fossil fuel use is not happening fast enough to prevent the increasingly dangerous effects of climate change.
Global CO2 emissions include both the contributions of fossil fuel use and the effects of land use change. Adding the two together, in 2023 the total was about 45 billion tons, basically unchanged from last year.
Adding insult to injury are the emissions from fires. The extreme wildfire seasons in Canada, Australia, and other places have contributed CO2 emissions much larger than historical averages.
About half of all the carbon dioxide emitted on Earth is absorbed by carbon sinks on land and the oceans. The other half remains in the atmosphere, where levels are now averaging 419 parts per million, 51% above pre-industrial levels.
Current efforts are simply not profound enough or widespread enough to put global emissions on a downward trajectory. Some climate policies in some places are proving effective, but much more needs to be done.
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Fossil CO2 emissions at record high in 2023
Photo, posted December 18, 2013, courtesy of Steve Nelson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
