CO2 Emissions Are Falling. That Doesn’t Mean Virus Will Slow Warming

Springtime is a difficult moment to puzzle out what the ongoing economic shutdown means for global warming. Carbon-dioxide levels always drop throughout the spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, as hungry plants absorb the primary greenhouse gas. This seasonal effect is occurring as pandemic lockdowns have stopped billions of people from driving and working, slashing fossil-fuel use and lowering carbon-dioxide emissions. 

A car crosses an empty interchange in Ecublens, Switzerland, on April 12.

“If we were to continue like this for months, instead of weeks, we will see a drop in carbon emissions that we haven't seen in my lifetime,” said Rob Jackson, a professor at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project. “And probably since the end of World War II. That's where we're heading.”

But even a sustained decrease in new emissions this year—under a scenario in which the ongoing economic collapse is more severe than the 2008 recession—would have little impact on the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere. In fact, CO₂ levels will almost certainly continue to rise. 

Read the story from Bloomberg Green by Eric Roston - “CO2 Emissions Are Falling. That Doesn’t Mean Virus Will Slow Warming.”