‘Vicious cycle’: Heat waves ramp up global burning of fossil fuels
Residents of the U.S. and other countries, cranking up their air conditioners, are helping to set records for consumption of fuels contributing to climate change
By Timothy Puko
Updated July 28, 2023 at 7:09 p.m. EDT|Published July 28, 2023 at 7:35 a.m. EDT
There’s a big winner in the record heat waves baking the United States, China and other countries — fossil fuels.
The United States is setting records for natural gas consumption this week at the power plants that keep the nation’s air conditioners humming, according to estimates from S&P Global Commodity Insights. In China, power plants are burning more coal to keep up with electricity needs, helping to feed a record pace in demand this year for the world’s largest source of carbon dioxide, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.
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That demand is feeding what the Paris energy watchdog calls a “vicious cycle” that further boosts world temperatures. As heat waves multiply and intensify, it creates more demand for fossil fuels, which add to the greenhouse-gas emissions that intensify extreme heat around the world.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/28/natural-gas-heat-waves-climate/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
