Perhaps the only good side effect of the rapid breakout of COVID-19 in 2020 was global carbon dioxide emissions dropping by 6.4% (2.3 million tonnes) from 2019. Decreased vehicle use and air travel was a direct cause of this drop in emissions. This drop in emissions was especially prevalent within the air travel industry—an industry who was hit hardest by the pandemic, whose emissions decreased by 48% compared to. Another effect of the lockdowns was a 0.03°C rise in global temperature. This is because the burning of fossil fuels releases airborne particles called aerosols which block sunlight and because of the reduction in the usage of fossil fuels, more sunlight was able to reach the planet making it slightly warmer.

Unfortunately, the reductions and progress were short-lived and once lockdowns ended the world started bouncing back. As of 2021, carbon emissions have almost rebounded back to pre-pandemic levels. However, because of the temporary reduction, scientists were able to learn and discover more about how reducing carbon emissions may help us fight against climate change. For example, a new survey conducted using NASA’s satellite data and other international space agencies found the 2020 decrease in carbon emissions had surprising effects on the earth’s atmosphere. Typically, when carbon emissions are decreased, so is the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, in 2020, the amount of Co2 continued to grow despite the emission levels dropping mainly because although there is a significant dip, the growth of atmospheric concentrations stayed normal through natural processes, also with the sudden and rapid decrease of carbon emissions, the ocean did not consume as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The lasting effects of the decrease are not very prominent, though. According to different models, by 2030 the world will only be 0.01℃ cooler as a result of the 2020 carbon emission reductions. This decline has taught us that reducing carbon emissions drastically is not sustainable nor economically stable. We must use the knowledge we gained from this, to find a solution to our massive environmental issues.

Works Cited

“COVID-19 Lockdowns Temporarily Raised Global Temperatures, Research shows: Reductions in Aerosol Emissions had Slight Warming Impact, Study Finds.”, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210202164535.html

“Emission Reductions from Pandemic Had Unexpected Effects on Atmosphere.”, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/emission-reductions-from-pandemic-had-unexpected-effec ts-on-atmosphere.

Forster Piers. “Covid-19 Paused Climate Emissions – but they’Re Rising Again.”, Mar 15, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210312-covid-19-paused-climate-emissions-but-theyre-rising-again.

“Global Carbon Emissions Rebound to Near Pre-Pandemic Levels.”, -11-04T12:20:23Z, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/global-carbon-emissions-rebound-near-pre-pande mic-levels-2021-11-04/.

Han, Pengfei, et al. “Assessing the Recent Impact of COVID-19 on Carbon Emissions from China using Domestic Economic Data.” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 750, 2021, pp. 141688, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720352177, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141688.

Tollefson, Jeff. “COVID Curbed Carbon Emissions in 2020 — but Not by Much.” Nature, vol. 589, no. 7842, 2021, pp. 343-343, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00090-3, doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00090-3.

Image Credits: 
By Studio Incendo - _DSC3172, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99750508