COVID-19 Pandemic Cuts Emissions to 2005 Levels
The coronavirus pandemic has caused tremendous hardship around the world. Close to 5 million people have been infected with the virus and 325,000 have died. Many countries are in recession and unemployment has reached levels not seen in a long time. Some areas are slowly opening back up, but we are still far away from business as usual.
But there is also some good news when it comes to emissions. We have already seen pictures and videos from tourist destinations where nature is recovering. Now there is also an international study that provides numbers for the economic slowdown has affected global carbon emissions.
Biggest Drops Since Word War II
The journal Nature Climate Change found that daily emissions declined 17% between January and early April, compared to average levels in 2019, and could decline even further. Emissions in the first four months are similar to what we saw back in 2005.
Depending on how long social distancing measures continue, 2020 could mark the largest annual decrease in carbon emissions since World War II. Estimations are for anywhere between a 4% and a 8& drop in carbon emissions for the year.
Will it Last?
But the big decline in emissions during the first few months of this year will likely not be long lived or make a big difference in the long term. Economies around the world haven’t fundamentally changed, so once everything is back to normal, emissions should also go back to what scientist predict for the following years.
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30,000,000 unemployed in the usa.
Hundreds of millions worldwide.
So much misery impacting hundreds of millions of people.
For what?