Earth Sciences

Global patterns of daily CO₂ emissions reductions in the first year of COVID-19

Z. Liu, Z. Deng, et al.

Discover groundbreaking research by Zhu Liu and colleagues revealing a staggering 6.3% global reduction in CO₂ emissions in 2020, stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns. This significant decrease, primarily from the transportation sector, underscores the urgent need for an energy transition to limit warming to 1.5°C.

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Abstract

This paper presents a daily CO₂ emissions dataset for 2020, revealing a 6.3% (2,232 MtCO₂) global reduction compared to 2019 due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The initial drop was significant, primarily impacting transportation, but emissions gradually recovered from late April. Subsequent lockdowns caused smaller reductions, mainly in Western countries. The 2020 decrease is comparable to the annual reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, highlighting the urgency of energy transition.

Publisher

Nature Geoscience

Published On

Jun 30, 2022

Authors

Zhu Liu, Zhu Deng, Biqing Zhu, Philippe Ciais, Steven J. Davis, Jianguang Tan, Robbie M. Andrew, Olivier Boucher, Simon Ben Arous, Josep G. Canadell, Xinyu Dou, Pierre Friedlingstein, Pierre Gentine, Rui Guo, Chaopeng Hong, Robert B. Jackson, Daniel M. Kammen, Piyu Ke, Corinne Le Quéré, Crippa Monica, Greet Janssens-Maenhout, Glen P. Peters, Katsumasa Tanaka, Yilong Wang, Bo Zheng, Haiwang Zhong, Taochun Sun, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber

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