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Potsdam (dpa) - According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from electricity generation fell by 7 percent worldwide last year.
The reason is the decreased demand for electricity in the corona pandemic, the researchers write about their study published on Monday in the journal "Nature Climate Change".
"Coal was hit harder by the Corona crisis than other power sources," emphasized the study's lead author, Christoph Bertram.
If the demand for electricity falls, coal-fired power plants are usually switched off first for cost reasons.
In this way, fossil fuels were partially displaced from the electricity generation mix in 2020.
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If you look at India, the USA and the European countries alone, the decline is even more pronounced than the average.
In these key markets, monthly electricity demand has decreased by up to 20 percent compared to 2019, and monthly CO2 emissions have fallen by up to 50 percent.
This development could continue this year.
The pandemic created a particularly good opportunity to make the current trend towards the decline in coal use irreversible.
"With further measures such as the abolition of subsidies for fossil fuels or increased investments in wind and solar energy, it is now easier than ever to put an end to climate-damaging power generation," emphasized the director of the Potsdam Institute, Ottmar Edenhofer
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand for coal fell sharply in 2019 and 2020 and is only expected to rise again this year.
In addition to lower electricity generation, lower production volumes for steel and cement also contributed to the decline.
In the coming years, the regional trends of previous years in coal consumption are likely to continue.
While demand in the European Union and the USA is likely to fall, the authors of the IEA study expect an increase in Southeast Asia and India.
In China, according to the December 2020 analysis, coal demand will remain largely stable.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210208-99-350874 / 2