Daily CO2 Emissions Plunge During Global Lockdowns

Daily global CO2 emissions fell 17% by early April over last year’s average, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. Such a drop could be the largest on record, the authors conclude.

By the end of 2020, the study predicts total emissions could drop between 4% and 7%, depending on the path of recovery.

What happened: Nothing. Nothing happened. Major sources of carbon emissions—cars, planes, factories—all stood still as governments implemented lockdowns to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Drilling a little deeper…

• Surface transportation including cars, buses, and trucks accounted for 43% of the total decrease.
• Emissions in the aviation sector declined 60%, and industrial production 19%.

So...about climate change…

Well, no. This major dip in emissions is what your stats professor might call an “outlier,” and not representative of long-term trends. After all, shutting down your economy because of a global pandemic is “not the way to tackle climate change,” explains the study’s lead author.