Carbon Emissions Are Now Growing Faster Than Before the Pandemic

As countries emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, many promised to rebuild their economies in a climate-friendly manner. However, the opposite has occurred, with global greenhouse gas emissions rising faster now than in the decade before the pandemic. Emissions rose 1.3% to 57.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, a faster annual rate of growth than the 0.8% average from 2010-2019. All sources of greenhouse gas emissions, except land use, are rising, including road transport, leaks from oil and gas infrastructure, and industrial emissions. Aviation emissions grew 19.5% in 2023. The rising emissions mean the world's opportunity to avert catastrophic climate change is shrinking. Inger Anderson at the United Nations Global Environment Program urged every nation to take action, stating, "Climate crunch time is here."