COVID-19 lockdowns caused an ‘extreme’ reduction in carbon emissions

The Corona virus The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we move around cities and on the planet. We are stuck inside with annoying roommates or loving pets, Take cars off the road, ground planes, and dramatically change energy consumption. So it’s not a surprise The planet could take a little breather: We had cleaner air, cleaner water and The animals are taking back our cities.

A new study published in Nature Climate Change on Thursdayhas provided a number for the impact of the pandemic on global carbon emissions. Using government policies and activity data through the end of April 2020, estimates assume that daily emissions have decreased by almost a fifth compared to 2019.

“Emissions peaked on April 7, down 17% year-over-year,” said Pep Canadell, who leads the Global Carbon Project and is a co-author of the paper, in a statement. The reduction corresponds to a decrease of around 18.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. There is one important limitation: these are Estimates based on the average daily emissions data collected between 2017 and 2019.

The team combined energy, activity, and political data from 69 countries, including the world’s largest emitters such as China, the United States, Europe, and India, and estimated the impact of various limiting measures, ranging from no restrictions to national closures, on various carbon emissions Economic sectors.

Her analysis also examined Apple mobility data for world countries and traffic data from the USA, Great Britain and the USA the Tomtom traffic index.

Land traffic data – from road vehicles and shipping – identified the main impacts of the ban on CO2 emissions (a 36% reduction by April 7, equivalent to around 8.3 tons per day). The drastic change in transport behavior has already led to this Some cities are reassigning car lanes to accommodate bicycles.

The team suggests that annual emissions could decrease from 4% to 7.5% year over year if some restrictions persist through the end of the year. This decrease is comparable to the amount of emission reductions required to get closer to Paris’ climate goals. However, the researchers note that the changes observed are likely to be temporary because “they do not reflect structural changes in the economic, transport, or energy systems.”

Basically, if we don’t all commit to staying in our homes for the next decade, we’re unlikely to meet the Paris climate goals. And judging from the cafes I’ve been to in the past week, it seems to make us feel itchy to go outside and move again. In addition, A recent report by the Center for Energy and Air Research The air pollution and satellite data examined show that China has already recovered dramatically. Coal consumption and production rose above the 2019 level.

“The drop in emissions is significant, but it shows the challenge of meeting our Paris climate commitments,” said Rob Jackson, Stanford University climate researcher and co-author of the study. “We need systemic changes through green energy and electric cars, no temporary reductions through forced behavior.”