Scientists report that the pandemic-related drop in carbon dioxide emissions has come to an end.
A group of scientists who track heat-trapping gases related to climate change said in a recent study that the first nine months of 2021 have returned emissions to somewhere below 2019 levels. The group estimates that 2021 will spew out 36.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide compared to 2019’s 36.7 billion metric tons. The sudden return to pre-pandemic numbers led the researchers to emphasize the United Nation’s COP26 climate summit decisions.
“It’s not the pandemic that will make us turn the corner,” said study co-author Corinne LeQuere, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, in an interview at COP26. “It’s the decisions that are being taken this week and next week. That’s what’s going to make us turn the corner. The pandemic is not changing the nature of our economy.”
DEMOCRATS SUBPOENA BIG OIL FIRMS IN CLIMATE ‘DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN’ INVESTIGATION
Carbon pollution numbers declined significantly in 2020 to only 34.8 billion metric tons, a significant decrease compared to previous years. This decrease gave some environmentalists hope that the pandemic could stifle the steady increase of carbon or nations might adopt cleaner power sources amid the pandemic.
The research found that China’s pollution emissions increased by 7% in 2021, making them the most prominent polluter in the world to date. LeQuere claims that China’s jump was primarily due to its attempt to recover since ending its lockdown much earlier than the rest of the world.
DEMOCRATS SUBPOENA BIG OIL FIRMS IN CLIMATE ‘DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN’ INVESTIGATION
China declined to adopt a new emissions pledge that several other countries signed last week and did not make an appearance at COP26.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping made a “big mistake” not showing up at the event, claiming that Xi “lost the ability to influence people around the world.”
The steady growth of carbon emissions in previous years has several researchers concerned that the window to stop the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is closing.
