Was the 2020 “COVID emissions dip” a myth?

However, the level of GHG emissions has a special role to play, as the leading cause of changes in the other six indicators. “Increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to human activities are a major driver of climate change,” the WMO states bluntly.

Most of the “COVID emissions dip” can be attributed to the temporary decrease in automobile traffic on the one hand and the temporary slowdown in industrial activities on the other. Emphasis on “temporary”: because as soon as pandemic restrictions are lifted, GHG emissions rebound. As The New York Times reported in June 2020, climate experts say that “the trajectory of global emissions in the years ahead is likely to be heavily influenced by the stimulus measures that countries enact as they seek to revive their economies.” Clearly, there is much work to be done in order to cut global emissions permanently.