World carbon dioxide emissions fell record 7 per cent in 2020 because of Covid-19 lockdowns
- Scientists say drop is chiefly because people are staying home, travelling less by car and plane
- Decline in CO2 emissions was particularly large in the United States and the EU
Carbon emissions fell a record seven per cent in 2020 as countries imposed lockdowns and restrictions on movement during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Global Carbon Project said Friday in its annual assessment.
The fall of an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes is considerably larger than previous annual record declines, such as 0.9 billion tonnes at the end of World War II or 0.5 billion tonnes in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.
The international team of researchers behind the report said emissions from fossil fuels and industry would be around 34 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent this year – still a significant chunk of Earth’s remaining “carbon budget”.
Emissions reductions were most pronounced in the United States (down 12 per cent) and the European Union (down 11 per cent), the Global Carbon Project said.
In China, however, it said emissions would likely fall in 2020 just 1.7 per cent as Beijing superpowered its economic recovery.
By sector, emissions from transport accounted for the largest share of the global decrease, with emissions from car journeys falling by roughly half at the peak of the first Covid-19 wave in April.