En-en adult card 7 co2 emissions

Card #7: CO₂ Emissions

Causes		Consequences
Fossil Fuels Deforestation		Carbon Sinks

CO₂ (or carbon dioxide) is the first anthropogenic (ie linked to human activity) greenhouse gas in terms of emissions.
These emissions come from our use of fossil fuels and deforestation.

Explanation

Causes

• Deforestation emits CO2 because 93% of man-made deforestation is done by burning forests.
• Fossil fuels : Coal, oil and natural gas emit CO2 during combustion.

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Current energy mix

Global

The global energy mix is 85% dependent on fossil fuels. and today renewable energy sources tend to add capacity rather than replace fossil fuels.

France

In France in 2018, the final energy consumption (at consumer level) split by primary energy source was as follows  :

• Fossil fuels: 67.4% (coal 1.9%, oil 44.0%, natural gas 21.5%) ;
• nuclear: 17.7% ;
• renewables: 14.9% (biomass-waste 9.8%, hydropower 3.0%, wind 1.2%, solar 0.5% (mainly photovoltaic), other 0.3%).