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By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

Global emissions from the combustion of hydrocarbons such as oil and gas are set for another record this year, the Global Carbon Budget report has warned.

Released during the COP28 conference, the report said that global emissions will reach 36.8 billion tons this year, which would be a 1.1% increase in 2022, the report’s authors said.

The report is produced by a group of scientific institutions led by the University of Exeter.

These are the emissions generated directly from the combustion of hydrocarbons. When emissions from land use are added, the total rises to 40.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide. This total has plateaued, the authors of the report said, due to a decline in land use emissions from activities including deforestation.

Emissions from oil, gas, and coal, however, are on the rise, driven by the leading economies of the developing world. China’s emissions were on the rise after it reopened its economy following pandemic lockdowns, the report said. India, on the other hand, saw its emissions rise because demand for energy was rising faster than India was adding low-carbon energy sources to its grid, the authors also said.

COP28 has a special focus on hydrocarbons but few believe this would lead to any meaningful agreement for phasing these out.