Carbon Brief

The year has been dominated, of course, by Covid-19. In April, @DrSimEvans estimated that widespread lockdowns could knock 5.5% off global CO2 emissions in 2020: http://bit.ly/3axKirQ  This month, @gcarbonproject said it will likely clock in at 7%: http://bit.ly/3h7Sznz pic.twitter.com/uq32qq9X4m

But analysis we published in May explained that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere will still rise this year http://bit.ly/3pfC77s  And @Josh_Gabbatiss covered a study showing the dip in emissions would only prevent around 0.01C of warming http://bit.ly/2WAvOPO pic.twitter.com/9zmxjpia0p

In other Covid-related articles, @daisydunnesci delved into the eye-opening topic of how climate change and biodiversity loss are raising the risk of pandemics. Read here http://bit.ly/38rWjMT pic.twitter.com/qgc7MPww4Y

And the surging popularity of streaming services this year led to some spurious claims about the CO2 emissions they cause. A factcheck by @GeorgeKamiya showed that some of these estimates “exaggerate the actual climate impact by up to 90-times” http://bit.ly/38nFra7 pic.twitter.com/9UWfnUz0Ry

Meanwhile, in a new venture for @CarbonBrief, we hosted webinars on three big topics: Covid-19 & CO2 emissions: http://bit.ly/3piC4Ip  Wildfires: http://bit.ly/3aqtDXc  Meat & dairy: http://bit.ly/37AqSki pic.twitter.com/wcT2CHnv7s

We published a series on climate “tipping points”, with an explainer by @rtmcswee: http://bit.ly/3mB9qAs  And guest posts on: AMOC: http://bit.ly/3h4MoRl  Permafrost: http://bit.ly/3pdrmTe  Amazon: http://bit.ly/2LWaMcl  West Antarctica: http://bit.ly/3mDtcLt pic.twitter.com/APsw6GEGal

In another week-long special, we published a series exploring climate change and food. It kicked off with an interactive on the climate impact of meat and dairy, by @daisydunnesci, @tomoprater and @joejgoodman http://bit.ly/3pay2Sb pic.twitter.com/hSf11gUNjT

Which was followed by a Q&A by @Josh_Gabbatiss on what shifting diets around the world mean for climate change http://bit.ly/2LWVJz6  And two guest posts on: Food waste: http://bit.ly/3p6XIyU  Meat consumption in less developed countries: http://bit.ly/2KH67uj pic.twitter.com/jiSAwK0cDv

We continued to publish our in-depth climate and energy country profiles of the world’s biggest emitters. This year we covered: Iran: http://bit.ly/2LQxbYl  South Korea: http://bit.ly/3nyLxe1  Nigeria: http://bit.ly/37AnFRM pic.twitter.com/0F1cd8xnl8

Back in the UK, prime minister Boris Johnson published his “10-point plan” towards net-zero emissions. We covered the reaction http://bit.ly/3peTx4u  This was swiftly followed by the latest advice from @theCCCuk. We picked out the key details http://bit.ly/3peTx4u pic.twitter.com/72HsfO9UpR

And, soon after that, the UK government published its long-awaited “white paper” setting out the government’s agenda for the energy sector. Yet again, @Josh_Gabbatiss was on hand to address the big questions http://bit.ly/3aC2tNf pic.twitter.com/SaU1GvPqFz

A recurring theme in the discussions around the world reaching net-zero has been the role that hydrogen could play. This Q&A by @DrSimEvans and @Josh_Gabbatiss – with infographic from @tomoprater – is everything you could need on the topic http://bit.ly/3av0tGk pic.twitter.com/oxsPohmaZw

Tree planting could also play a big part in reaching the UK’s net-zero goal. Back in March, @Josh_Gabbatiss investigated the UK’s targets and the issues that need to be overcome http://bit.ly/2WwRJan pic.twitter.com/n1CbjhutOx

As ever, we’ve covered extreme weather in 2020, including an explainer on the jet stream by @rtmcswee http://bit.ly/3askeOV  A Q&A by @daisydunnesci on how heavy rains had contributed to locust storms in East Africa and beyond http://bit.ly/3mEfsjM pic.twitter.com/NzfD1e13qu

And three Met Office guest posts on the UK’s record-breaking weather: Wet & warm winter: http://bit.ly/37C97Ro  February rainfall: http://bit.ly/2LLpt1F  Dry & sunny spring: http://bit.ly/34xteyo  By @markpmcc, @AyeshaTandon and @SchultzAnnie1pic.twitter.com/i19OryIoO3

Back at the start of 2020, wildfires were already raging in Australia. We summarised the media reaction and talking points http://bit.ly/3rhXqHG  And @daisydunnesci’s explainer unpacked the relationship between wildfires and climate change http://bit.ly/37DbJyM pic.twitter.com/X7DerJ8ISx

In other explainers, @hausfath – along with @richardabetts – unpacked how “carbon-cycle feedbacks” could make global warming worse http://bit.ly/38qiz9M  And Zeke estimated when global warming could breach the thresholds of 1.5C and 2C http://bit.ly/3mB3SFR pic.twitter.com/H7NQrNOaNH

Meanwhile, @daisydunnesci explored how climate change disproportionately affects women’s health: http://bit.ly/3pbZyi3  (map by @joejgoodman) And @AyeshaTandon covered research on why tackling gender inequality is “crucial” for climate adaptation: http://bit.ly/3rhaqNx pic.twitter.com/LCCKQureAv

The end of the year saw the US election. In the lead up to the vote, @Josh_Gabbatiss tracked the key statements on climate and energy by the two candidates and their parties: Read here http://bit.ly/2Kg11p2 pic.twitter.com/tE5NdlFjam

With Joe Biden emerging victorious, @Josh_Gabbatiss summarised how the media reacted http://bit.ly/2WxoEvs  And canvassed climate scientists and policy experts on their reaction, too http://bit.ly/3pbm6zx pic.twitter.com/3dc1tDAkuJ

The focus on China continued this year, with its surprise pledge to reach “carbon neutrality” before 2060. We published analysis by @HectorPollitt on how meeting this pledge could cut global warming this century by 0.25C and raise the country’s GDP http://bit.ly/3h93ixW pic.twitter.com/mNgyDqGM2s

However, analysis by @laurimyllyvirta in June revealed that China’s CO2 emissions surged after Covid lockdowns http://bit.ly/2WvQE2O  He also found that China’s stimulus plans for fossil fuels were 3 times larger than for low-carbon energy http://bit.ly/3az2hy2 pic.twitter.com/EDVVAAmQF4

We have also picked up a few awards: @LeoHickman was named “editor of the year” by the @absw @DrSimEvans & @_rospearce won the @absw “innovation of the year” for this interactive: http://bit.ly/3nK7g2U  The same piece was “highly commended” by @RoyalStatSocpic.twitter.com/9BlGGQcQhz