Europe’s carbon emissions from power plants and industry have been even lower to start the year than they were during the depths of the pandemic as high energy prices and strong renewable output slash demand for fossil fuels.
Emissions from power plants and industrial operations covered by the European Union’s cap-and-trade system are down 13% in the first four months of the year, according to data from geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS. The roughly 400 million metric tons of CO2 produced in that period was slightly lower than in the start of 2020, when pandemic restrictions had come into effect.
While part of the emissions drop can be attributed to a ramp up in new renewable power sources, another big factors is the steep decline in demand from industries that can no longer afford to operate at normal levels.
