Global CO2 emissions have increased every year since the introduction of the EU's climate policy.

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The claim asserts that global CO₂ emissions have increased every single year since the introduction of EU climate policy. This is factually incorrect: in 2020, global CO₂ emissions fell by approximately 5–7% (around 2–2.4 billion tonnes) due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the largest absolute drop ever recorded.

Global CO₂ emissions also declined in 2009 (by approximately 1.4%) during the global financial crisis, providing a second counterexample to the 'every year' assertion.

Omissions

• The claim ignores the massive, well-documented drop in global CO₂ emissions in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, when emissions fell by an estimated 5–7%.
• The MEP does not specify which EU climate policy or introduction date he is referring to (EU ETS in 2005, the 2008 Climate and Energy Package, the 2019 Green Deal, or the 2021 Climate Law), making the claim vague.
• The claim conflates correlation with causation: even if emissions had risen every year, that does not demonstrate that EU climate policy caused or failed to prevent those rises — global emissions are driven primarily by non-EU emitters such as China, India, and the United States.

Sources

• PrimaryIEA — After steep drop in early 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded stronglyIn 2020, global energy-related CO₂ emissions fell by 5.8% (nearly 2 billion tonnes) — the largest annual decline ever recorded — due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IEA notes 'after steep drop in early 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded strongly,' confirming the 2020 decline was real and significant.
• PrimaryIEA — Global Energy Review 2025: CO₂ EmissionsTotal energy-related CO₂ emissions increased by 0.8% in 2024, hitting an all-time high of 37.8 Gt CO₂. This confirms that after the 2020 drop, emissions rebounded and reached record levels.
• PrimaryIEA — Global Energy Review 2026: CO₂ EmissionsGlobal growth in energy-related CO₂ emissions slowed in 2025, rising by around 0.4%, the slowest rate since 2021. Emissions continued to rise but at a decelerating pace.
• SecondaryStanford University — COVID lockdown causes record drop in carbon emissions for 2020Global COVID-19 lockdowns caused fossil CO₂ emissions to decline by an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes in 2020 — a record drop. The article states this is the largest absolute decrease in history.
• SecondaryCICERO Center for International Climate Research — COVID-19 pandemic causes unprecedented drop in global CO₂ emissions in 2020Global CO₂ emissions were expected to fall about 7% in 2020 due to restrictions to slow the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it an 'unprecedented drop.'