  Global fossil CO2 emissions in 2020 decreased 5.4%, from 36.7 Gt CO2 in 2019
to 34.8 Gt CO2 in 2020, an unprecedented decline of ~1.9 Gt CO2. We project
that global fossil CO2 emissions in 2021 will rebound 4.9% (4.1% to 5.7%)
compared to 2020 to 36.4 Gt CO2, returning nearly to 2019 emission levels of
36.7 Gt CO2. Emissions in China are expected to be 7% higher in 2021 than in
2019 (reaching 11.1 Gt CO2) and only slightly higher in India (a 3% increase in
2021 relative to 2019, and reaching 2.7 Gt CO2). In contrast, projected 2021
emissions in the United States (5.1 Gt CO2), European Union (2.8 Gt CO2), and
rest of the world (14.8 Gt CO2, in aggregate) remain below 2019 levels. For
fuels, CO2 emissions from coal in 2021 are expected to rebound above 2019
levels to 14.7 Gt CO2, primarily because of increased coal use in China, and
will remain only slightly (0.8%) below their previous peak in 2014. Emissions
from natural gas use should also rise above 2019 levels in 2021, continuing a
steady trend of rising gas use that dates back at least sixty years. Only CO2
emissions from oil remain well below 2019 levels in 2021.
