COVID-19 lockdown: Global carbon emissions to drop by 8%

NEW YORK: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted an 8 percent decline in global carbon emissions this year due to lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the last 100 days, the world has observed a complete lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The IEA revealed that it expected global energy demand to plunge this year which will be called the biggest drop since World War II. 

IEA estimates that global energy demand will reduce by 6 percent in 2020, seven times more than the 2008 global financial crisis. The demand in the US for energy will reduce by 9 percent while the European Union’s demand will fall by 11 percent in 2020.

As per the report, demand for natural gas is set to drop by 5 percent this year. Oil demand will drop by 9 percent after recording eight years of growth. Whereas, the power generated by coal will reduce by 10 percent after peaking in 2018.

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane into Earth’s atmosphere and oceans have caused the planet’s temperatures to rise to levels that cannot be explained by natural factors or scientists’ report.

In the past 20 years, the world’s temperature has risen about two-thirds of a degree Fahrenheit.