Responses in business and personal behaviour to coronavirus pandemic have caused the sharpest drop in carbon output since records began, in April the International Energy Agency said that they expected carbon emissions to decline by 8%, or almost 2.6 gigatons across the globe.
Coronavirus has had devastating effects on health and economies across the world, but the data suggests that with the lockdown measures in place the environment is receiving a well-earned break from previous levels of carbon emissions.
However as economies restart and lives return to the “new normal “there is a risk that these gains will be lost, air pollution in china for example is already back to pre-pandemic levels with areas like Shanghai now showing increased levels of NO2.
At LCE we hope that some of the environmental benefits that have come from the measures to contain coronavirus can be maintained and can set new carbon reduction strategies going forward.
Darren Jones, MD for LCE says “Rather than letting all these good gains be lost, the United Nations and environmental campaigners around the world, are urging governments to ‘build back better, to invest in the future not the past’, to ensure that our global recovery can look back on a sustainable legacy.”
Here at LCE we hope that one of the positive outcomes of the pandemic will be that governments and organisations see the radical changes that need to be made to meet carbon emissions targets. For example, Bernard Looney the CEO of BP recently said that for the world to get to net zero by 2050, the world would need to see lockdown-like reductions in carbon emissions every other year for the next 25 years.
People have had the chance to see for themselves that carbon emissions can be tackled, and that changes to the way we live and work, although this time extreme, can have an carbon reduction impact. Darren Jones added “The technologies required to reach net zero exist today — we are currently working with our clients to put them to use at pace and scale, and I remain optimistic that we can make this happen throughout the many business sectors we work in.”
LCE are experts in carbon reduction, we have a range of services to measure and reduce carbon output. We also work closely with our clients to ensure that their plant and infrastructure is carbon optimised and that they are fully compliant with latest related government legislation.
