Emissions Are Returning To Pre-Pandemic Levels

Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing and are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels, reports Landsbankinn.

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Iceland’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3.3% in 2021, after two years of decline. However, total emissions of the economy in 2021 were still lower than 2018.

Economy emissions decreased sharply in 2019 and 2020 due to the bankruptcy of WOW Air and the decrease of tourists due to the pandemic. Economy emissions have increased 6% between 2021 and 2022, due to a 6.7% increase in industry.

Household emissions have fallen by 1% since 2021. The majority of household emissions can be attributed to transportation. The increase in electric cars likely helped to facilitate this decrease in emissions.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing, metal production, and maritime and air transport account for more than 80% of emissions for the past year. Aviation emissions sharply declined during the pandemic, however, the return of tourism has led to a quadrupling of aviation emissions between 2021 and 2022.

Global greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 4.6% in 2020 and many hoped this would be the start of a new era. Unfortunately, global greenhouse gas emissions rose by 6.4% last year, returning to pre-pandemic levels.