Carbon emissions are on the rise again after a short blip when the pandemic brought entire industries and international travel to a halt. Emissions from burning fossil fuels dropped by an unprecedented 17 percent from the previous year during the peak of the lockdown in April, but by early June they had mainly returned to about 5 percent below 2019 levels, according to United in Science 2020, a report published Wednesday coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
While overall emissions will fall more than ever this year, the drop won’t slow climate change and the five years through 2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record, according to the report.
The concentration of carbon emissions shows no signs of peaking because humans continue to pump out carbon dioxide, although at a slightly lower rate than last year. Emissions of methane, which has much more heating potential, have also risen in the past decade.