Foreign media: After the epidemic, global carbon emissions began to rebound

A study warned on Thursday that while the COVID-19 crisis has made an additional contribution to the climate, global carbon dioxide emissions have increased significantly again, leaving less and less time to curb global warming, AFP reported on November 4.

According to the report, the new crown epidemic has put the brakes on many parts of the world, and people's lives and economies are very dependent on fossil fuels. The pandemic eventually reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by 5.4% year-on-year in 2020.

However, according to the Global Carbon Emissions Report released at the UN Climate Conference, global carbon emissions will rebound by 4.9% in 2021, just 1% less than the record 2019.

Despite pledges to launch "green" stimulus packages in the post-pandemic era, economic recovery depends more on fossil fuels: coal-related emissions could exceed 2019 carbon emissions levels, while natural gas-related emissions will hit record highs.

It is true that oil-related carbon emissions will only grow by 4.4% in 2021, which will be lower than the level of 2019 before the epidemic. But the report's authors stress that the transportation sector has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels and that oil-related carbon emissions could accelerate their rebound.

Glenn Peters of the International Center for Climate Research, one of the study's authors, said that in the current state "we can expect another increase in carbon emissions," and that scientists had hoped before the pandemic would be the year carbon peaked.

Source: Reference News Network