Covid pandemic drives a record drop in CO2 emissions in 2020

Dec 31 2020 - Views: 594

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CO2 Emissions may rise again next year, 2021

Global CO2 emissions plunged by approximately 2.4 billion tons in 2020, a 7 percent drop from the year 2019, according to the report from the University of Exeter, the University of East Anglia, and the Global Carbon Project. That’s also the largest annual drop in CO2 emissions since World War II, triggered by the Covid-19 restrictions all over the world, say the searchers.

2020 saw a record drop in CO2 emissions

The U.S saw the largest decline in carbon emissions, 12 percent, followed by the European Union (EU), at 11 percent, the report said. Among developing countries, India had a CO2 decline of 9 percent, while China saw a drop of just 1.7 percent.

Also according to the research, daily global CO2 emissions dropped by 17 percent during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns in April 2020 but have since surged and come to near 2019 levels again.

The lockdowns and other restrictions enforced to stem the spread of Covid-19 are attributed to this historic drop in global fossil fuel emissions. Emissions from air travel and automobiles drop by nearly half during the peak of the Covid-19 restrictions in April from 2019 levels.

CO2 Emissions may rise again next year, 2021

However, though 2020 saw a record drop in CO2 emissions, 39 billion tons of carbon were still released into the air. Researchers said CO2 emissions will likely rebound in the next year, 2021.

Continued efforts to reduce carbon emissions to reach zero are very important to protecting the planet from climate change.
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