“The U.S. economy is on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 9 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, BloombergNEF reported Thursday.
“It's a sign of the impact that COVID-19 shutdowns and the ensuing recession have had on life in the U.S. When workers stayed home and the streets emptied out, it reduced emissions from transportation, which accounted for the largest decline at 4 percent of economywide emissions. The power sector drove another 2.8 percent decline, while reduced industrial activity lowered emissions by another 1.6 percent.
“The drastic reduction in planet-warming emissions did not result from concerted action on climate change, so much as an unprecedented and deadly pandemic. Without the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. would have released just 1 percent less carbon than in 2019, BNEF estimated. The mandated cessation of activities to stop the spread of coronavirus led to the additional reduction of 8 percent.”

Here’s the pretty plot:

Notice how California’s forest fires didn’t help very much. Forests can regrow though, which will offset this difference. Until the next fireapocalypse hits, at least.

Need some irony to get you through the day?

“The economic disruption of 2020 has inadvertently put the U.S. back on track to meet the commitments it made under the 2016 Paris Agreement, prior to President Trump taking the country out of that pact.”

Lol.

Reality is never far away though:

“This data also presents a messaging challenge for climate activists. This is the nation's best performance in modern history in terms of cutting carbon emissions. But it came about as the result of a historic economic slowdown that plunged millions into unemployment and jeopardized businesses across the country. That's not a recipe that Americans are eager to repeat.”

You don’t say!