Without structural change, the decrease in CO2 emissions will have no effect on the climate

CO2, or oxides of nitrogen, fell between 10% and 30% during the lockdown, but these “significant behavioral changes” are temporary, according to para.

CO2, or oxides of nitrogen, dropped by 10-30% during captivity, but these “major behavioral changes” are temporary, according to the study.

An unprecedented drop in greenhouse gas emissions during the lockdown “will do nothing” to curb global warming, according to a study published Friday that insists on the need to permanently move away from fossil fuels.

Global CO2 emissions responsible for climate change could be reduced by up to 8% in 2020, due to measures introduced around the world to curb the Covid-19 epidemic. But in the absence of a systematic change in the field of energy and power, the savings in greenhouse gas emissions may be negligible, warn the authors of this study published in Nature Climate Change.

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The researchers calculated that 10 greenhouse gas emissions were allocated to 120 countries between February and June. CO2 or nitrogen oxides, for example, decreased between 10% and 30%. But these “big changes” in behavior are temporary. And even if restrictions on travel, especially air travel, and physical distancing were to continue until the end of 2021, it would save just 0.01°C of warming by 2030, the researchers say.

temporary change

“The detention showed that we can change, and quickly, but it also showed the limits of behavior change,” said Piers Forster, co-author of the study and director of the Priestley International Climate Center at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. . “Without structural change, we won’t be successful,” he said.

The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to limit warming to +2°C or 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial times. But the planet has already gained at least +1°C, which has already led to the multiplication of events, extreme weather and the promises of countries to reduce emissions, if fulfilled, always lead to a world at +3 °C

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To meet the ideal goal of the Paris Agreement, it will be necessary to reduce CO2 emissions by 7.6% per year every year between 2020 and 2030, according to the UN.

A figure similar to the projected drop for this year. But with the unprecedented economic crisis resulting from these measures, it would be surprising if it happened again anytime soon, worries Piers Forster. “To be completely honest, it is unlikely that the world will decarbonise at a rate compatible with +1.5°C”, insists the researcher.

“green incentive”

The study also considers different post-Covid recovery scenarios, which offer an opportunity for radical economic change.

According to the researchers, a “green” push, which would see a 1.2% increase in GDP invested in low-carbon technologies, could cut emissions in half by 2030, compared to a recovery based on fossil fuels.

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“The drop in emissions seen during covid-19 is temporary and will do nothing to slow climate change,” said Corinne Le Quéré of the University of East Anglia. “But the responses of governments could be decisive if they focus on green stimulus,” added the scientist, president of France’s Higher Climate Council.

Date updated: August 8, 2020, 00:58

Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn

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