Landsbankinn reports that greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise and are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Iceland’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 3.3% in 2021 after a two-year decline. However, total economic emissions in 2021 were still lower than in 2018.
Economic emissions fell sharply in 2019 and 2020 due to the bankruptcy of WOW Air and the decline in tourists due to the pandemic. With a 6.7% increase in industry, economic emissions increased by 6% between 2021 and 2022.
Household emissions have fallen by 1% since 2021. Most of the household emissions can come from transportation. The increase in electric vehicles may have helped to help reduce this emission.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, metal production, and sea and air transport account for more than 80% of emissions over the past year. Air emissions fell sharply during the pandemic, but the revival of the tourism industry quadrupled air emissions between 2021 and 2022.
Global greenhouse gas emissions will decline by 4.6% in 2020, and many hoped this would be the beginning of a new era. Unfortunately, global greenhouse gas emissions rose 6.4% last year, returning to pre-pandemic levels.
