Economy

March 15, 2023Courtney Horton

The energy crisis caused greenhouse gas emissions to drop dramatically in 2022 | climate

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Gas consumption will also remain low this year

Statistics Netherlands uses international guidelines for the United Nations Climate Panel (IPCC) to calculate emissions figures. International aviation and shipping are not included in this, nor is biomass combustion.

If these carbon dioxide sources are included, emissions are down 8.4 percent compared to 2021. The difference is attributed to aviation emissions, which rose by almost a third. However, the climate impact of aircraft is still 20 percent less than it was before the Corona crisis.

Energy expert Martin Visser of Hans-Universität Groningen does not expect emissions to rise again this year. Although gas prices have decreased, they are still much higher than they were before the Corona crisis. “So far I don’t see any industries starting up again. For many households, 1.45 euros per cubic meter of gas is still too much.” Therefore, gas consumption in the first months of the year remained lower than it was before the energy crisis.

Meanwhile, sustainable electricity production continues to grow steadily. A large new wind farm off the North Sea coast is expected to become operational this year. “Overall, I expect emissions to stay about the same,” says Visser.

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