Carbon Emissions in Europe and America Drop Due to COVID-19 Lockdowns

The BBC and The New York Times report that carbon emissions were suppressed due to the coronavirus lockdown (Amos, 2020; Crist, 2020).

The satellite maps produced by the Royal Netherlands show that the amounts of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas pollutant produced by the use of fossil fuels, steeply declined as economic activity significantly slowed down.

The comparison is being made between the average concentration for March 2019 and the concentration for March 14-25, 2020. The 10-day average clears out some variabilities, such as weather changes, wind direction, and speed, that could contribute to the amounts of NO2 in the atmosphere.

Combining the data from the 10-day average enables scientists to observe the impacts on emissions resulting from changes in human activities.  

The satellite maps show reductions in NO2 in the following European countries: Italy—particularly northern Italy, where the coronavirus outbreak is most severe—France, Spain, and Portugal. Scientists also predict the same thing will happen in the UK.

The New York Times reports that something else is happening besides the decline in emissions worldwide.

It reports that China’s and Italy’s air is “strikingly clean,” Venice Grand Canal is running clean where it was previously dirty due to boat traffic. The pollution fog has lifted in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta.

However, this does not mean that the coronavirus is the solution to the climate problem because it is also a crisis itself.  

The fact is, coronavirus is temporary, but the threats of climate change, such as heatwaves, floods, and extreme storms, which also claim human lives, are ongoing.

According to an opinion article by Meehan Crist in The New York Times, emissions have also decreased in the United States, as well as across the Atlantic Ocean. However, whether this trend continues will depend on consumer behaviour and how the government responds to revive the economy as soon as the pandemic is over.

How the economic response unfolds will impact the climate crisis in the coming decades and potentially even into the next millennium. The article also predicts a slowdown in clean energy projects, such as solar, battery, and electric vehicle markets.

The lockdown has already slowed climate research; research flights to the Arctic have halted, and COP 26, a climate change conference in Glasgow this November, has been delayed or would even be cancelled.

The article suggests that postponing this important conference could hinder climate change efforts, including the climate adaptation and mitigation strategies of all countries that have pledged to reduce emissions.

Although China has reduced its emissions by 25%, its government has indicated that it will “relax environmental supervision of companies to stimulate its economy.” This could mean more emissions than ever before.  

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic has echoed this sentiment, stating that the European Green Deal, a European climate policy aimed at achieving zero emissions by 2050, should be set aside for countries to focus on fighting the pandemic.

But this could also go the other way, especially when governments are willing to spend money urgently amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these government investments could be redirected towards the development and integration of clean energy technologies instead.

Falling oil prices can provide an opportunity for governments to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and redirect investments to clean energy projects instead.  

The 32-hour workweek, touted recently as a way to improve quality of life, can be adopted. The timing could not be more perfect, as the massive disruption caused by the coronavirus makes this suggestion a possibility. The result can be an effective climate mitigation strategy that helps reduce emissions.

The article notes that while the climate crisis has highlighted the unsustainable nature of our economy and society, the pandemic, on the other hand, is a “gut-wrenching reality check.”

Climate change and the coronavirus are not separate issues, but they are surprisingly connected.

The climate crisis tells us that nature is deteriorating due to the pollution we constantly release into it, from our industries that continuously spew heat-trapping and polluting gases into the atmosphere to meet economic and consumer demands.

If urgent climate adaptation and mitigation policies and implementation are not taken, more extreme events will occur, which can affect thousands of lives and undermine economic progress.

COVID-19, on the other hand, shows us that humans are not invincible. We don’t have all the answers, and our actions have an impact on one another. It is only when we cooperate and unite that we can efficiently surpass the problem.