Slowdown in industrial activities not enough to reduce greenhouse gases: WMO

Agency: A slowdown in industrial activity linked to the coronavirus pandemic has cut emissions of pollutants and heat-trapping greenhouse gases, but hasn’t reduced their record levels in the atmosphere, the United Nations weather agency said on Monday.

According to AP, the World Meteorological Organization pointed to a record-setting surge of carbon dioxide emissions in recent years. However, the organisation warned that any reduction in levels as a result of a pandemic-related industrial slowdown will take years to materialize. The organization also said this can best be achieved if countries are able to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

“The lockdown-related fall in emissions is just a tiny blip on the long-term graph. We need a sustained flattening of the curve,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said Monday after releasing the latest edition of the organization’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. “The COVID-19 pandemic is not a solution for climate change.”