ALSO ROARING BACK FROM PANDEMIC: EARTH-WARMING EMISSIONS

Global warming emissions are expected to spike this year as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic and economies begin to recover.

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Worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions could surge by 1.5 billion metric tons this year, following last year’s decline due to the pandemic, according to a report from the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental group based in Paris.

That would be the second-largest annual increase in emissions since 2010 following the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, the IEA reported.

Carbon dioxide emissions will increase 5% increase this year, to 33 billion metric tons, the IEA forecast. The group says that the main driver is coal demand, which is on course to grow by 4.5%. That would surpass its 2019 level and approach its 2014 peak, according to the IEA, which says the electricity sector is responsible for about three-quarters of the rise.