Essen (dpa/lnw) - According to the authorities in NRW, the economic recovery after the corona pandemic and an increase in coal-fired power generation have caused higher greenhouse gas emissions. The emission of climate-damaging gases increased nationwide in 2021 compared to the previous year by 13.4 million tons of CO2 equivalents, as announced by the State Office for Nature, Environmental Protection and Consumer Protection (Lanuv) on Tuesday. This corresponds to an increase of seven percent. According to preliminary figures, a total of 217.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions were emitted in 2021.
Greenhouse gas emissions are given internationally according to CO2 equivalents, since there are very different gases with different effects on the climate. According to Lanuv, one ton of methane emitted by cows, for example, corresponds to 24 tons of CO2.
According to Lanuv, the reason for the increased coal-fired power generation in 2021 was the lower yields from renewable energies, mainly due to the lack of wind. The first shutdowns of lignite-fired power plants at the end of 2020 would not have made themselves felt in the 2021 climate balance. From coal-fired power generation alone, emissions rose from 58 million tons of CO2 in 2020 to 70.1 million tons across NRW in 2021, according to the evaluation by the environmental agency.
In industry, the economic recovery has led to increased emissions, particularly in steel production, mineral processing and chemical manufacturing. Overall, this area increased by 7.6 percent year-on-year to 58.4 million tons.
For NRW road traffic, on the other hand, the state-wide emissions register for 2021 determined practically constant pollutant emissions of around 27 million tons. Slight reductions in greenhouse gas emissions were registered for private households. According to the Federal Environment Agency, there was a nationwide decrease in emissions in agriculture by an average of two percent. This corresponds to a reduction to 6.7 million tons for NRW. Reason are further declining numbers in cattle and pig husbandry.
