There was a fleeting decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in March 2020 as countries shut borders and planes were denied permission to take off in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Given this was one of the only positives to come out of a lot of worldwide uncertainty, experts began to ask how much of a lasting impact could this decrease have? Now, over a year on, we ask that question once more.
How Covid Initially Effected the Environment
As of March 2020, the streets of Wuhan were completely baron, Italy imposed its harshest travel restrictions since the second world war and bars and pubs across the UK were shut off to the public. Across the globe, flights were cancelled, landed or turned around in the air as the aviation industry got a glimpse of the year ahead.
This was all aimed towards preventing the spread of the coronavirus; however, as industries closed down and working remotely was enforced across nations worldwide, there was a huge drop in carbon emissions. In March 2020, when compared against the figures of March 2019, the levels of pollution in New York dropped by 50%. Similarly, emissions in China fell by 25%, as well as in the UK and Spain.
Naturally, nobody saw covid-19 as a solution to the planet’s environmental issues surrounding carbon emissions; however, there were discussions on how long this dip could continue. Upon restrictions lifting, would the figures jump straight back up as if this period never happened? Or is there a way that these low percentages could continue?
In order to try and gauge an answer to this question, we need to consider why specifically the drops occurred in the first place.
Why The Reduction?
Overall, transport is accountable for up to 23% of the worlds carbon emissions. This means that in countries where travel was restricted, both by air and car, there were huge dips in emissions as the main contributors were forced to be dormant. Throughout 2020 and for the beginning of 2021, these restrictions remained sporadically in place all over the world, and as such emissions remained relatively low.
There is of course the worry, as far as this reduction is concerned, that there will be a boom in travel once people can do so in a carefree manner, and a rapid increase in emissions as a result. Consider the response from holiday goers when UK citizens were told they could travel to Portugal, then imagine that worldwide.
Will Percentages Remain Low?
Somewhere we could see a consistent decrease in carbon emissions is in cars. The emissions given out by cars was lowered throughout the pandemic due to the fact that non-essential travel stopped. There were no social engagements for people to attend, the Highstreet was closed, and working was done predominantly from home. As such, there were a lot fewer cars on the road and this led to a huge decrease in pollution.
There is a chance that though these numbers will likely increase as facilities re-open, they may stay below the level they were at prior to March 2020. People are still being encouraged to work from home as lockdown eases and organisations across the country, upon realising that office space is not an absolute requirement, are encouraging employees to work from home some days of the week, even after lockdown has fully lifted. This could mean that there is less pollution as a result of commuters travelling to work.
Not only is there the possibility of reduction in unnecessary travel; however, there are also technological advancements which could lead to fewer emissions from cars. Specifically, electric cars, which continue to be manufactured and are becoming increasingly popular.
As far as aviation is concerned, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where in a post-covid world, the amount of air travel will be less than it was prior to March 2020. People have been starved from travelling abroad for so long that it will not come as a surprise that once they can do it freely, they will. Realistically, in order to see carbon emissions in the aviation industry permanently reduced, there needs to be an alternative to the fuel being burned.
Renovare Fuels are currently in the process of developing eco-friendly technology that has been created by a group of world leading chemical engineers. This technology, once implemented, would take biogas produced from landfills, sewage and anaerobic digesters, and convert it into liquid gas that could be used by planes.
Overall, whilst uncertainties still linger around how much lockdowns will be eased around the world, so too does it remain difficult to fully understand how much of a positive impact the recent dip in carbon emissions truly had. That being said, because of continuously developing technology and the fact travel on a day-to-day basis may become less frequent, though the emissions are likely to rise again, there is ample opportunity to maintain the reduction we saw throughout lockdown.
Author bio – Renovare fuels design, manufacture and market ground-breaking eco-friendly technology that converts biogas into liquid fuel. Thanks to its team of world leading chemical engineers, Renovare fuels are actively making the world a greener place to live. Find out more here.
About Matthew Stone
Matthew Stone is an active investor in clean technology and the design and manufacture of sustainable liquid fuel. Matthew works with a wide-ranging investor network, which includes high profile private investors, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and major corporations. He is also the chairman of Renovare Fuels, an innovative company that specialises in clean technology within the waste-to-energy sector.