US emissions falls are part of wider trend

Emissions may not bounce back to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic

The 11pc decline in US energy-related emissions in 2020 just reported by the EIA will likely be greeted as a one-off. But a peak in US petrol demand and expected coal retirements over the next two years means US emissions remain on course to continue the steady decline that started in 2008. US CO2 emissions are falling steadily, but not dramatically. They have dropped an average 1.67pc a year from 6bn t in 2007 to 5.1bn t in 2019. “Aviation demand will only return to 2019 levels by 2024” IEA And continued growth in wind and solar means an expected rise in nuclear capacity retirements this year is unlikely to change the trajectory of these reductions. The sectors will provide 25-30 GW