Carbon dioxide emissions drop by a 7 per cent due to lockdown in 2020, says study

Experiencing the biggest drop ever, lockdown due to the pandemic have cut down the carbon dioxide emissions by a total of 7 per cent. As per scientists, this drop is because of people staying at home and less traveling by car and plane. A study published in the journal Earth System Science Data state that estimations made by the Global Carbon Project said that the world will have put 37 billion US tons of carbon dioxide by the end of the year 2020. However, that has come down from 40.1 billion US tons in the year 2019.

Drop in carbon dioxide emissions 

For the year 2019, the same study shows that from 2018 to 2019 emissions of the main man-made heat-trapping gas increased only 0.1 per cent. This was much smaller than an annual increase of around 3 per cent. United Nations Development Director Achim Steiner then said, “We are certainly very close to an emissions peak, if we can keep the global community together”. 

Read: COVID-19 Lockdown Lead To Largest Drop In Co2 Emissions In Modern History: Study

The director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Chris Field, feels that the emissions will increase after the pandemic. However, he said that he is optimistic that the society has learned few lessons and that may help in decreasing the emissions. He said, “as people get good at telecommuting a couple of days a week or realise they don’t need quite so many business trips, we might see behaviour-related future emissions decreases”. 

A separate study titled as ‘Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic’ published in the journal Nature revealed that the drop in carbon dioxide emissions during lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak is the largest in modern history. As per the study, there was a drop of 8.8 per cent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. However, by July 1, the impact on emissions significantly reduced as the lockdown restrictions were eased in many parts of the globe, including China and several European countries. 

Read: UN: COVID-19 Lockdowns Slashed Pollutants, Not CO2 Levels

Initial reports based on limited samples of power plants and indirect satellite observations of atmospheric pollutants, there was a dramatic drop in global emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recorded a −5% decline in global CO2 emissions in January–April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The study did an in depth analysis of ‘the estimates of daily, sector-specific, country-level CO2 emissions from January 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2020’.

The analysis provided a daily, weekly, and seasonal information of CO2 emissions before and after the pandemic struck the globe. The study gives a perfect example as it says, “the emissions effects of major holidays such as Christmas in the U.S. and Europe, the Spring Festival in China, and Holi Festival in India are evident”.

Read: Anand Mahindra Shares His 'lockdown Anthem', Netizens Call It 'every Day Reality'

Also Read: PM Modi Talks Of Climate Change At G20 Summit: 'India Exceeding Paris Agreement Targets'

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