The coronavirus pandemic could mean this year’s world carbon dioxide pollution output falls by the largest amount in over 70 years, according to a network of scientists examining emissions data.
Rob Jackson, chair of the Global Carbon Project, which produces widely watched annual emissions estimates, said carbon dioxide output could fall by more than 5 per cent year-on-year – the first dip since a 1.4 per cent reduction after the 2008 financial crisis.
“I wouldn’t be shocked to see a 5 per cent or more drop in carbon dioxide emissions this year, something not seen since the end of World War Two,” said Professor Jackson, of Stanford University in California.
“Neither the fall of the Soviet Union nor the various oil or savings and loan crises of the past 50 years are likely to have affected emissions the way this crisis is,” he added.
The fall in carbon dioxide comes as countries around the world have reported dramatic improvements in air quality due to the effect of shutdowns which have largely stopped travel and shut down industrial activity.
Source: Independent