From CNN:

“Global emissions of heat-trapping gases fell dramatically last year as the pandemic forced much of the world to a halt. But new data has shown they are bouncing back -- fast.
“Lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus caused a 7% drop in CO2 emissions over the course of 2020 -- the biggest drop ever recorded -- a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change estimates.

That was then.

“New data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on Tuesday showed global energy-related emissions were actually 2% higher in December 2020 than they were in the same month a year earlier -- and that was despite parts of the world still experiencing lockdowns.
“Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, said the rebound in carbon emissions was "a stark warning that not enough is being done to accelerate clean energy transitions worldwide."
"If governments don't move quickly with the right energy policies, this could put at risk the world's historic opportunity to make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions," he said in a statement.”

There is no way 2019 will be the definitive peak. Hopefully 2019 is at least a false summit, and the true peak isn’t too far off.

In order to keep warming below 2°C, we basically need the 7% drop from 2020 to be repeated in 2021, and then repeated again in 2022, and so on.

In other breaking news: pigs truly can fly. You heard it here first, folks.

Wish us luck, alien life-forms on Mars.

[Cover photo: JPL/Cornell/NASA]