Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Zhu Liu; Philippe Ciais; Zhu Deng; Ruixue Lei; Steven J. Davis; Sha Feng; Bo Zheng; Duo Cui; Xinyu Dou; Biqing Zhu; Rui Guo; Piyu Ke; Taochun Sun; Chenxi Lu; Pan He; Yuan Wang; Xu Yue; Yilong Wang; Yadong Lei; Hao Zhou; Zhaonan Cai; Yuhui Wu; Runtao Guo; Tingxuan Han; Jinjun Xue; Olivier Boucher; Eulalie Boucher; Frédéric Chevallier; Katsumasa Tanaka; Yimin Wei; Haiwang Zhong; Chongqing Kang; Ning Zhang; Bin Chen; Fengming Xi; Miaomiao Liu; François Marie Bréon; Yonglong Lu; Qiang Zhang; Dabo Guan; Peng Gong; Daniel M. Kammen; Kebin He; Hans Joachim Schellnhuber

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7

Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Zhu Liu^*, Philippe Ciais, Zhu Deng, Ruixue Lei, Steven J. Davis, Sha Feng, Bo Zheng, Duo Cui, Xinyu Dou, Biqing Zhu, Rui Guo, Piyu Ke, Taochun Sun, Chenxi Lu, Pan He, Yuan Wang, Xu Yue, Yilong Wang, Yadong Lei, Hao ZhouZhaonan Cai, Yuhui Wu, Runtao Guo, Tingxuan Han, Jinjun Xue, Olivier Boucher, Eulalie Boucher, Frédéric Chevallier, Katsumasa Tanaka, Yimin Wei, Haiwang Zhong, Chongqing Kang, Ning Zhang, Bin Chen, Fengming Xi, Miaomiao Liu, François Marie Bréon, Yonglong Lu, Qiang Zhang, Dabo Guan, Peng Gong, Daniel M. Kammen, Kebin He, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

561 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO₂ emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO₂ emissions (−1551 Mt CO₂) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic’s effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.

Original language	English
Article number	5172
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2020

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Liu, Z., Ciais, P., Deng, Z., Lei, R., Davis, S. J., Feng, S., Zheng, B., Cui, D., Dou, X., Zhu, B., Guo, R., Ke, P., Sun, T., Lu, C., He, P., Wang, Y., Yue, X., Wang, Y., Lei, Y., ... Schellnhuber, H. J. (2020). Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Communications, 11(1), Article 5172. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7

@article{3a7e7282eec74d1a8718d8a51ebf4e6d,

title = "Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions (−1551 Mt CO2) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic{\textquoteright}s effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.",

author = "Zhu Liu and Philippe Ciais and Zhu Deng and Ruixue Lei and Davis, {Steven J.} and Sha Feng and Bo Zheng and Duo Cui and Xinyu Dou and Biqing Zhu and Rui Guo and Piyu Ke and Taochun Sun and Chenxi Lu and Pan He and Yuan Wang and Xu Yue and Yilong Wang and Yadong Lei and Hao Zhou and Zhaonan Cai and Yuhui Wu and Runtao Guo and Tingxuan Han and Jinjun Xue and Olivier Boucher and Eulalie Boucher and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Chevallier and Katsumasa Tanaka and Yimin Wei and Haiwang Zhong and Chongqing Kang and Ning Zhang and Bin Chen and Fengming Xi and Miaomiao Liu and Br{\'e}on, {Fran{\c c}ois Marie} and Yonglong Lu and Qiang Zhang and Dabo Guan and Peng Gong and Kammen, {Daniel M.} and Kebin He and Schellnhuber, {Hans Joachim}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020, The Author(s).",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

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doi = "10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7",

language = "English",

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Liu, Z, Ciais, P, Deng, Z, Lei, R, Davis, SJ, Feng, S, Zheng, B, Cui, D, Dou, X, Zhu, B, Guo, R, Ke, P, Sun, T, Lu, C, He, P, Wang, Y, Yue, X, Wang, Y, Lei, Y, Zhou, H, Cai, Z, Wu, Y, Guo, R, Han, T, Xue, J, Boucher, O, Boucher, E, Chevallier, F, Tanaka, K, Wei, Y, Zhong, H, Kang, C, Zhang, N, Chen, B, Xi, F, Liu, M, Bréon, FM, Lu, Y, Zhang, Q, Guan, D, Gong, P, Kammen, DM, He, K & Schellnhuber, HJ 2020, 'Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic', Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 5172. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7

TY - JOUR

T1 - Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Liu, Zhu

AU - Ciais, Philippe

AU - Deng, Zhu

AU - Lei, Ruixue

AU - Davis, Steven J.

AU - Feng, Sha

AU - Zheng, Bo

AU - Cui, Duo

AU - Dou, Xinyu

AU - Zhu, Biqing

AU - Guo, Rui

AU - Ke, Piyu

AU - Sun, Taochun

AU - Lu, Chenxi

AU - He, Pan

AU - Wang, Yuan

AU - Yue, Xu

AU - Wang, Yilong

AU - Lei, Yadong

AU - Zhou, Hao

AU - Cai, Zhaonan

AU - Wu, Yuhui

AU - Guo, Runtao

AU - Han, Tingxuan

AU - Xue, Jinjun

AU - Boucher, Olivier

AU - Boucher, Eulalie

AU - Chevallier, Frédéric

AU - Tanaka, Katsumasa

AU - Wei, Yimin

AU - Zhong, Haiwang

AU - Kang, Chongqing

AU - Zhang, Ning

AU - Chen, Bin

AU - Xi, Fengming

AU - Liu, Miaomiao

AU - Bréon, François Marie

AU - Lu, Yonglong

AU - Zhang, Qiang

AU - Guan, Dabo

AU - Gong, Peng

AU - Kammen, Daniel M.

AU - He, Kebin

AU - Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions (−1551 Mt CO2) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic’s effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.

AB - The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions (−1551 Mt CO2) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic’s effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.

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DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-18922-7

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C2 - 33057164

AN - SCOPUS:85092550128

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 11

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 5172

ER -

Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

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