Earth Protect Blog

 After a drastic decline this spring, global greenhouse gas emissions are now rebounding sharply, scientists reported, as countries relax their coronavirus lockdowns and traffic surges back onto roads. It’s a stark reminder that, even as the pandemic rages, the world is still far from getting global warming under control.

In early April, daily fossil fuel emissions worldwide were roughly 17% lower than they were in 2019, as governments ordered people to stay home, employees stopped driving to work, factories idled, and airlines grounded their flights, according to a study published in May in Nature Climate Change.

But by mid-June, as countries eased their lockdowns, emissions had ticked up to just 5% below the 2019 average, the authors estimated in a recent update.

The Denver Post 6-18-2020 Briefs