[ad_1]
Original title: Affected by the new corona epidemic, US greenhouse gas emissions will fall by 9% in 2020 Source: cnBeta.COM
According to BloombergNEF (hereinafter referred to as BNEF) on Thursday, the greenhouse gas emissions of the US economy in 2020 will be reduced by 9% compared to 2019.This is a sign of the impact of the closure of COVID-19 and the consequent economic recession on the lives of Americans. When workers stayed home, the streets were empty and emissions from transportation dropped, accounting for 4% of the entire economy, the biggest drop.
Furthermore, emissions from the electricity sector fell by 2.8%, while emissions from industrial activities fell by 1.6%.
The substantial reduction in emissions from global warming is due not so much to coordinated action on climate change as to an unprecedented and deadly epidemic. BNEF estimates that without the COVID-19 crisis, US carbon emissions would only be reduced by 1% compared to 2019. The mandatory suspension of activities to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus resulted in a further reduction of the 8%.
BNEF analysts Tom Rowlands-Rees and Melina Bartels noted that despite this, absolute numbers make 2020 the “greenest” year on record.
The economic chaos of 2020 inadvertently put the United States on the path of complying with the 2016 Paris Agreement, when President Trump had not yet allowed the United States to withdraw from the agreement.
But this year the United States has a record wildfire season. It is understood that burning the fire released 2.8% of total national economic emissions in 2019. This means that total US emissions in 2020 will fall 6.4%.
Analysts noted that the carbon emitted by wildfires cannot be directly compared to burning fossil fuels, because forests can regenerate and absorb carbon again after burning, while the carbon emitted from burning fossil fuels will only remain in the atmosphere. However, this still bodes ill for arid western states, where large-scale wildfires are becoming the norm every year.
These data also pose challenges for climate activists in terms of transmitting information. In terms of reducing carbon emissions, this is the best performance in modern American history. But it was the result of a historic economic slowdown that caused millions of people to lose their jobs and jeopardize businesses across the country. Americans are not willing to repeat this practice.
In fact, Republican politicians did not wait long to describe the economic woes of the new era of the corona virus as what would happen if the country took progressive steps to reduce emissions through the Green New Deal.
Just because the economic slowdown leads to lower emissions does not mean that lower emissions will necessarily lead to slower emissions. In fact, based on the closure of coal-fired power plants, the United States has been moving towards low-carbon development for many years. Vice President Mike Pence unequivocally praised American innovations during the October vice presidential debate, although he declined to claim that humans have caused climate change.
The cost of the transition to clean energy can be too high, driving up energy prices. But states that use clean power plants today do so in large part because the electricity they provide is cheaper than coal or gas power plants.
The highly competitive ERCOT market in Texas is a practical weather vane, where profit-focused private investors will choose to build factories they believe will deliver the best returns. Today, these developers overwhelmingly choose wind, solar, and battery plants as the means to get value.
Electric companies are another type of investor that choose carbon-free energy to generate economic benefits. Across the United States, utilities have found that they can stop paying for fuel combustion and switch to clean energy development, while returning higher profits to shareholders. Although only 10 states have committed to achieving net zero emissions by the middle of this century, voluntary commitments to achieve this goal are already very common among major utilities. Even the few utilities that have yet to set a comprehensive decarbonization goal are investing heavily in zero-carbon resources.
BNEF predicts that emissions will increase in 2021, but the continued presence of the novel coronavirus interference will reduce emissions by 5% compared to 2019. The situation in 2020 is unique, and a more sustainable decarbonization requires more structural reforms in production energy and transportation.
