CO ₂ emissions rebound after registering a historic drop during confinements

Restrictions brought on by the pandemic in 2020 caused the biggest absolute drop in carbon dioxide emissions since World War II. But as quarantines were lifted and economic activity picked up, emissions rebounded very quickly by the end of the year. In December, global emissions were 2% higher than in the same month of 2019, according to new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Gas emissions from energy production fell by about 2 billion tonnes, up 5.8% of the previous year’s total in 2020. Such a fall “is unprecedented in human history; broadly speaking, it is the equivalent of removing all European Union emissions from the global total,” the authors wrote.

US and EU emissions fell by 10%, with the steepest reductions concentrated in March, April and May, the months of harshest lockdowns. China was the only major economy to see emissions rise by 0.8% a year. Much of the rise came at the end of the year. China’s emissions were 7% higher in December 2020 than in December 2019.

The category with the biggest drop in _CO2 emissions was transportation, as workers went into quarantine and movements from home to work stopped or stopped to a large extent. Declining oil use contributed more than half of the overall total. Of that amount, 50% came from lower road traffic and another 35% from immobilized aircraft.

Among the positive points, yes there are some, are renewable energies. Electricity generated by the sun and wind reached a record 20% of the global energy mix for the first time, and electric vehicles were sold in unprecedented quantities.

Risk of relapse

While the world is simultaneously struggling to return to normal and reduce emissions permanently, the IEA is concerned about a post-pandemic _CO2 flood. The speed with which energy demand returned as pandemic restrictions were lifted “highlights the risk that _CO2 emissions will increase significantly this year,” the IEA wrote.

Scientists estimate that emissions would have to fall by 10% in the year for a small reduction in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which has increased every year for decades, to be detected.

Source: The Economist