CO2 emissions show biggest ever drop in the first half of 2020, says study
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The Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decline by 15.4 per cent in India and by 8.8 per cent globally, steering the biggest ever drop in CO2 emissions in the first half of 2020, says a study. The study published in the journal Nature Communications on Wednesday, October 14, presented a proportion of data explaining the change in meteorological conditions, contributing to a massive drop in CO2 emissions.
The new study by the researchers from China and France show that the global CO2 emissions sensed a cumulative drop by over 1,500 Million Tonnes (Mt) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period the previous year. In India, the major turning point for the sharp fall in CO2 emissions was the enforced lockdowns across the states, to limit the spread of novel COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the study, India witnessed a whopping drop by 15.4 per cent equivalent to 205.2 Mt lesser emissions compared to the same period last year. This is the sharpest fall of year-on-year emissions among all the major economies in the world. While India recorded an increase in CO2 emissions by 6.4 per cent on February 2020, the country witnessed the greatest decrease in CO2 emissions on April (44.2 per cent), followed by May (27.6 per cent), March (16.9 per cent) and June (15 per cent).
Globally, international aviation figured the sharpest fall in emissions by 52.4 per cent, says the study. In terms of absolute volume, the study observed most pronounced fall in CO2 emissions from the US, with a drop of 338.3 Mt (13.3 per cent lesser than 2019), while China, the largest emitter, witnessed only a small variation in CO2 emissions by 187.2 M t (3.7 per cent lesser than 2019).
The study also outlines how the differentiating effect is already vanishing in many countries. Researchers of the study hope to utilise the study method used to track national and global CO2 emissions to assess the impact of persistent changes regarding human responses. Also, for a long-term impact of the witnessed changes, continuing to work at home spaces is to be considered, suggests the study.