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The drop in CO2 emissions in 2020 will not have lasted. The record level of GHG concentration in 2019 has almost been recovered, according to a study made public at COP26 in Glasgow.
The pandemic put much of the world and its economy on hold last year. A short-term respite: the economy is picking up again, traffic jams are back and factories are operating at full speed. After a historic 5.4% drop in CO2 emissions in 2020, they should start to rise again. The increase will reach nearly 4.9% by the end of the year. A rebound that would bring us closer to the previous level before the pandemic. “This reflects the very strong link between the economy and the use of fossil fuels, which produce CO2 emissions.“, explains Philippe Bousquet, professor of environmental physics.
Among the fossil fuels particularly implicated, coal, whose carbon emissions are expected to exceed their 2019 levels. China, its main user, does not intend to do without its energy in the short term. A serious obstacle in the fight against climate change according to one of the “The COP is expected to make a strong and quantitative commitment to reduce the use of coal in the coming years.“, affirms Philippe Ciais, co-author of the study. Thursday, November 4, forty countries have committed to do without coal to produce electricity between 2030 and 2040. An insufficient rate according to some specialists.
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Every day, Franceinfo selects content from European public audiovisual media, members of Eurovision. As part of the COP26, this selection focuses on the major current climate issues.