There has been a steep fall in global carbon emissions in 2020. A new study said that the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic caused a record drop in CO2 emissions worldwide. It said that CO2 emissions declined by 2.4 billion tonnes this year. Several countries imposed strict lockdowns for months to break the chain of coronavirus. As a result, factories and industrial activities were closed in many parts of the world. The closure of factories caused fossil carbon dioxide emissions to decline. The study noted that the drop in CO2 emission is much higher than past records. Earlier in 1981 and 2009, the CO2 emissions dropped by 0.5 billion tonnes, 0.7 billion tonnes in 1992, and 0.9 billion tonnes in 1945.
The UNEP’s emission gap report said that CO2 globally is predicted to fall by 7 percent in 2020. It added that the world is still facing the risk of a temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius in the current century. The fall in the emission will translate to a 0.01 degree Celsius drop in global warming by 2050. According to the UN, 2020 is also on the verge of becoming the warmest year. The report noted the wildfire, droughts, and storms continue to affect many parts of the world. This is the main reason why 2020 is on course to become the warmest year.
It is that emissions from road transport and aviation are estimated to be 10 percent low than in 2019. The report also assessed the gap between the Paris pact and anticipated emissions. Under the Paris Agreement, as many as 195 countries have agreed to work to reduce carbon emission to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius in the current century. Notably, greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 1.4 percent every year since 2010. China ranked one in terms of overall emission in 2019 with 14 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. The USA stood second with 6.6 GtCO2e. It was followed by the European Union and Britain with 4.3 GtCO2e. India was the fourth-highest nation with 3.7 GtCO2e.
