Global Carbon Emissions Bounce Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels

Global Carbon Emissions Bounce Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels

Share to Linkedin Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, according to new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), following a historic drop in emissions during 2020 as countries around the world implemented harsh lockdown restrictions in a bid to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Global Carbon Emissions Bounce Back To Pre-Pandemic Levels Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB ... [+] (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images) Major economies led the rebound, the IEA said, with global carbon dioxide emissions in December 2020 being 2% higher than the same month in 2019, the equivalent to 60 million tonnes. The changes in emissions differed around the world: China was the only large economy to increase emissions in 2020, rising 0. 8% overall, and the U. S. and EU saw emissions fall by about 10% at its lowest, with data showing the U. S. returning to pre-pandemic levels in December. Emissions from energy dropped by an unprecedented amount amid pandemic restrictions, the IEA said, the same as "removing all of the European Union's emissions from the global total." The rebound should serve as a "stark warning" to policymakers that more must be done to implement clean energy policies, IEA executive director