Global carbon emissions from energy hit a record high in 2018

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By Adam Vaughan

Global carbon emissions from energy climbed to a record high last year, as the world’s demand for energy grew at its fastest pace this decade.

The International Energy Agency, the world’s energy watchdog, said that economic growth and the weather drove emissions up 1.7 per cent to a new high of 33 gigatonnes. The increase is equivalent to the emissions from all air travel doubling in a single year.

These figures are the first official confirmation that emissions have risen for two years in a row. …