How changes brought on by coronavirus could help tackle climate change
Stock markets around the world had some of their worst performance in decades this past week, surpassing the global financial crisis in 2008. Drastic restrictions in the free movement of people are disrupting economic activity across the world as measures to control the coronavirus are deployed. But this is generating a slowdown of carbon dioxide emissions in the environment due to reduced energy consumption. Read the full analysis on The Conversation
Social distancing fighting climate change
As the world population is suddenly shifting into the fight against coronavirus, a question arises: could social isolation help reduce an individual’s production of greenhouse gases and end up having unexpected consequences for climate change? Read the full article on The New York Times
But the IEA thinks that coronavirus threatens climate action
The health crisis may lead to a decrease in global carbon emissions this year but the outbreak poses a threat to long-term climate action by undermining investment in clean energy, according to the global energy watchdog. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the economic fallout of Covid-19 to wipe out the world’s oil demand growth for the year ahead, which should cap the fossil fuel emissions that contribute to the climate crisis. Read the article on The Guardian
The Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor to monitor our air quality
Dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere, the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission is set to perform atmospheric measurements with high spatio-temporal resolution, to be used for air quality, ozone & UV radiation, and climate monitoring & forecasting. This mission is the result of close collaboration between ESA, the European Commission, the Netherlands Space Office, industry, data users and scientists. Discover more here
In Italy, pollution is decreasing with self-isolation and shutdowns
As citizens are quarantined at home, businesses and roads are closed and deserted, the air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are dropping dramatically. A timelapse of the atmospheric pollution seen from the Sentinel 5-P satellite data is also available. Read the full article on The Washington Post here