CO2 emissions rose again by 2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021 despite the dampening effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The main reasons for this are the decline in wind power generation to the long-term average and a simultaneous increase in heating requirements due to the colder winter.
As a result, more emission-intensive electricity was generated from coal and natural gas power plants. This is the result of recent calculations by Agora Energiewende based on the quarterly report by AG Energiebilanzen on the development of primary energy consumption. Last year, the emissions balance in the first quarter was significantly better than expected. (The figures refer to energy-relatedCO2 emissions, i.e. excluding emissions from industrial processes, agriculture and land use change (LULUCF). Energy-related emissions accounted for around 85% of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2019).
The higher primary energy consumption of lignite (+26%) and hard coal (+9%) as well as natural gas (+11%) led to an increase in energy-relatedCO2 emissions of 3 million tons to 169 million tons ofCO2.
This increase was curbed by the coronavirus measures. They lead to less mobility and thus to lower consumption of mineral oil-based fuels (petrol, diesel and kerosene). In addition, there were pull-forward effects in the procurement of heating oil due to low oil prices in 2020. As a result, mineral oil consumption in the first quarter of 2021 was 19% lower than in the first quarter of 2020.
Excluding these special effects,CO2 emissions would have increased by as much as 10% to 183 million tons ofCO2.
