Emissions rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 31 March 2022; doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01332-6

Global CO2 emissions in 2021 were only 1% less than the record levels of 2019, driven by increases in power- and industry-related emissions from China and India and a return of the carbon intensity of electricity to pre-pandemic levels. Is this resumed growth in fossil energy, or a final fleeting surge before a long decline?