Silver linings and silver bullets
The temporary destruction of energy demand may mean Covid-19 is the turning point for the energy transition
The pandemic of 2020 is an undeniable tragedy. Economies have been disrupted and lives impacted in ways that none of us ever imagined. But, while Covid-19 cases have grown in Europe and the US with the onset of winter, the news of successful vaccine trials has given people and markets new hope of a return to normal. When we talk about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, though, normal is the furthest place we could imagine from where we want to be. CO₂ emissions fell 8.8pc in the first half of 2020. That is not difficult to understand. Businesses closed, people largely stayed at home and global air travel ground to a near-halt. The World Bank estimates that, when all is said and do
Also in this section
22 July 2025
Sinopec hosts launch of global sharing platform as Beijing looks to draw on international investors and expertise
22 July 2025
Africa’s most populous nation puts cap-and-trade and voluntary markets at the centre of its emerging strategy to achieve net zero by 2060
17 July 2025
Oil and gas companies will face penalties if they fail to reach the EU’s binding CO₂ injection targets for 2030, but they could also risk building underused and unprofitable CCS infrastructure
9 July 2025
Latin American country plans a cap-and-trade system and supports the scale-up of CCS as it prepares to host COP30
