Coronavirus outbreak causes decline in China greenhouse gas emissions
The IndependentSign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Experts say greenhouse gas emissions in China, the world’s largest current contributor to climate change, are down 25 per cent in recent weeks as the country conducted a massive societal intervention to stop the spread of the virus. When it comes to an emissions decline, “whatever the driver, it will have to be big, and global,” says Glen Peters, an expert on carbon emissions at Norway’s Centre for International Climate Research and a contributor to the Global Carbon Project. “If global growth goes from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent, then it is very low by historical standards, but nowhere near as low as negative growth from the financial crisis,” Peters says. There’s evidence of emissions declining from 1918 to 1919 in the wake of the deadly Spanish flu From 2008 to 2009, during that seismic economic event, global emissions declined about 1.4 per cent, according to figures from Peters and the Global Carbon Project.