Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

World carbon pollution falls 17% during crisis peak

- Doyle Rice

Coronaviru­s lockdowns have had an “extreme” effect on daily carbon emissions, causing a 17% drop globally during peak confinement measures by early April – levels last seen in 2006.

However, it is unlikely to last, according to analysis by an internatio­nal team of scientists, who said the brief pollution break will likely be “a drop in the ocean” with climate change.

The analysis is the first to measure the pandemic-driven global drop in carbon dioxide emissions from January to April.

Carbon dioxide, emitted from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, is the greenhouse gas most responsibl­e for global warming. It stays in the atmosphere about a century before dissipatin­g.

While the impact of lockdown measures is likely to lead to the largest annual decrease in emissions since the end of World War II, 2020 is still on track to be one of the five hottest years on record. The study notes that the reductions are no “silver lining.”

The study was published in the peerreview­ed British journal Nature Climate Change.

Professor Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia in the U.K., who led the analysis, said that “population confinement has led to drastic changes in energy use and CO2 emissions. These extreme decreases are likely to be temporary though, as they do not reflect structural changes in the economic, transport or energy systems.”

“The extent to which world leaders consider climate change when planning their economic responses post-COVID-19 will influence the global CO2 emissions paths for decades to come,” she said.

For a week in April, the U.S. cut carbon dioxide levels by about one-third. China, the world’s biggest emitter of heat-trapping gases, sliced its carbon pollution by nearly a quarter in February. India and Europe cut emissions by 26% and 27%, respective­ly.

This annual drop is comparable to the amount of annual emission reductions needed year-on-year across decades to achieve the climate objectives of the U.N. Paris Agreement.

Study co-author Rob Jackson of Stanford University said: “The drop in emissions is substantia­l but illustrate­s the challenge of reaching our Paris climate commitment­s. We need systemic change through green energy and electric cars, not temporary reductions from enforced behavior.”

Outside experts praised the study as the most comprehens­ive yet, saying it shows how much effort is needed to prevent dangerous levels of further global warming.

“That underscore­s a simple truth: Individual behavior alone ... won’t get us there,” said Pennsylvan­ia State University climate scientist Michael Mann, who wasn’t part of the study. “We need fundamenta­l, structural change.”

Some of the report’s key findings include:

❚ The estimated total change in emissions from the pandemic amounted to 1,048 million tons of carbon dioxide through the end of April. The largest decrease in emissions occurred in China, followed by the U.S., Europe and India.

❚ In the U.S., California and Washington saw the biggest decline in emissions.

❚ Emissions from surface transport, such as car journeys, accounted for almost half (43%) of the decrease in global emissions during peak confinement on April 7.

❚ Pollution levels are heading back up, and for the year will end up 4% to 7% lower than 2019 levels, depending on the duration of the lockdown and the extent of the recovery.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States