Emission of greenhouse gasses from air transportation by Icelandic airline operators was 68% lower in 2020 than in 2019, down from 1,522 kilotonns CO2 equivalences in 2019 to 494 in 2020. This reduction comes after a 37% reduction in emissions between 2018 and 2019.
The 2018-2019 reduction is due to the closing of one airline operator in 2019. However, the 2019-2020 reduction is due societal responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Calculated emissions per month show substantial reduction in emissions in March and April of 2020, but slight increases during the summer months.
Preliminary numbers also show a reduction in emissions from marine transport between 2019 and 2020, but this sector had been steadily increasing its emissions in the previous years. Emissions from households incresased by 3.9% from 2019 to 2020, but Icelanders travelled considerably more around the island in 2020 than in previous years. Emissions from the metal industry remain unchanged.
Figures have been updated for the Air Emission Account on the Statistics Iceland data repository. Values from preliminary calculations for air emissions per month from the economy have now also been published.