The global greenhouse gas emissions are once again on the rise after countries around the world have eased lockdown measures. Earlier this year, researchers saw a decline in greenhouse gas emissions when countries around the world succumb to a lockdown to control the surge of COVID 19 cases.
It was noted that in April, daily fossil fuel emissions worldwide were about 17 percent lower than scientific data from 2019. A report from the Global Carbon Project noted that the confinement done across the globe had significantly shown sector by sector emissions reductions in different countries. The report said that the first reduction in these greenhouse gases was noted from Chinese provinces and the United States, which are the first big countries that have imposed strict lockdown measures.
The Global Carbon Project is a research project under the World Climate Research Programme- a reputable and highly recognized body that conducts scientific researches regarding climate change. The project has estimated a decrease of about 1.5 billion metric tons of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions for this year. It was in the year 1945 when such a similar reduction was recorded.
Read more about the report here: CO2 Emissions COVID 19
Greenhouse Gas Levels Increase
According to the Global Carbon Project, emissions from China have already returned to 2019 levels and have indicated a sharp reversal from earlier this year. The report also noted that the US, European countries, and India had followed similar greenhouse gas emission patterns.
According to scientificamerican.com, another online publication that continually reports on climate changes, the increase in emissions in the US can be attributed to the increase in driving on city streets. The report said that the gasoline demand in the market by refineries in the US has also increased by a third since April. It noted, though, that it remains at least at a 20% lower level than that of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019.
Scientificamerican.com said that an oil consulting firm, Rystand Energy, projects that the world will recover about 15 million barrels of oil demand a day by July. According to the firm, roughly half of the said amount was lost at the peak of the lockdown during April.
The Global Carbon Project said that they are expecting emissions to increase when lockdowns ease and economies pick up and recover.
Global Warming Still A Concern
Even if researchers see a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the previous months, scientists noted that it does not have a significant role in the prevention of global warming. The issue of global warming continues and will once surface as the world goes back to the norm with humans and industries going back to their activities.
Scientificamerican.com said that the recorded decline in emissions early this year is not enough to “prevent a runaway warming” of mother earth.
The report said that carbon dioxide is a long-lived gas, which would mean that as long as CO2 increases, the planet will continue to heat up.
CO2 is produced by human industrial activities and even normal home activities such as cooking. In fact, a laboratory in Hawaii, Mauna Loa Observatory, reported the highest recorded concentration of the gas in the atmosphere in May of this year.
The Global Carbon Project said that the world’s output of CO2 for this year would highly depend on how the world will recover and bounce back from its fight against the COVID 19 pandemic.
Read more about rushhourdaily.com environmental news here: Trump’s NEPA Overhaul Raises Environmental Concerns
