Coronavirus lockdown cut energy-related Carbon dioxide emissions 17%, study finds
- by Jake Bell
- in Research
- — May 21, 2020
Previous estimates of emissions reductions due to COVID-19 said the pandemic would take an 8 percent bite out of global emissions this year.
Such low global emission levels have not been recorded since 2006.
Early indications of the global impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic show a dramatic fall in global greenhouse gas emissions, and particularly in transport as the shift to working from home drive and the cut-back in worldwide travel delivered massive cuts in transport emissions.
The largest drop in carbon emissions came from the reduced traffic from cars, trucks and buses, accounting for roughly 43% of the total estimated emission reduction, the researchers found. Reductions in the power and industrial sectors accounted for another combined 43% of the total. On a national level, emissions decreased by about a quarter on average during each country's peak of confinement.
More news: Samsung unveils 50MP image sensor with 8K video recording #88182While the aviation sector is one of the hardest hit by the lockdown, it accounts for around 3 percent of global emissions - but it accounted for 10 percent of the emissions drop during the early days of the pandemic-prompted lockdown.
"Population confinement has led to drastic changes in energy use and Carbon dioxide emissions", said Prof Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia, who led the analysis.
"The extent to which world leaders consider climate change when planning their economic responses post COVID-19 will influence the global Carbon dioxide emissions paths for decades to come", lead author Prof Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia, said in a statement.
"Opportunities exist to make real, durable, changes and be more resilient to future crises, by implementing economic stimulus packages that also help meet climate targets, especially for mobility, which accounts for half the decrease in emissions during confinement", she said.
More news: Quarantine plans could scupper Silverstone's hopes of staging F1 double-header"The peak 17 per cent daily decline on 7 April was because China, the US, India, and all other major carbon-emitting countries were all in a high-level of lock-down at the same time".
The study examines activity across 69 countries, including Australia, that capturies 97 per cent of global emissions, and compares emissions for the first four months of 2020 to the corresponding period in 2019. In fact, the researchers estimate that the year-end reduction will end up being somewhere between 4% and 7%, depending on the speed and scope of the reopening of economies around the world.
"But the decrease in emissions this year will not do much to impact climate change, as it is extremely small compared to the emissions accumulated so far, and compared to the emissions cuts needed to tackle climate change", the study said.
"The UNEP report says decreases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 2.7 per cent per year are needed to keep warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and 7.6 per cent per year to keep below 1.5 degrees Celsius". "We need systemic change through green energy and electric cars, not temporary reductions from enforced behavior".
More news: New COVID Cases Confirmed In McLean County
