Posted on 14 June 2020 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

'Surprisingly rapid' rebound in carbon emissions post-lockdown

Busier roads to blame, with fears of worse to come as workers shun public transport

Huge queues of traffic blocked roads throughout Staines, Middlesex, when the McDonald’s drive-through restaurant reopened on 20 May. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex

Carbon dioxide emissions have rebounded around the world as lockdown conditions have eased, raising fears that annual emissions of greenhouse gases could surge to higher than ever levels after the coronavirus pandemic, unless governments take swift action.

Emissions fell by a quarter when the lockdowns were at their peak, and in early April global daily carbon dioxide emissions were still down by 17% compared with the average figure for 2019, research published last month in the journal Nature Climate Change found.

Now daily carbon emissions are still down on 2019 levels, but by only 5% on average globally, according to an updated study.

“Things have happened very fast,” said Corinne Le Quéré, a professor of climate change at the University of East Anglia and the lead author of the studies. “Very few countries still have stringent confinement. We expected emissions to come back, but that they have done so rapidly is the biggest surprise.” 

'Surprisingly rapid' rebound in carbon emissions post-lockdown by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, June 11, 2020

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on The Guardian website.

Coming Soon on SkS...

• How Climate Change Reinforces Racism (Climate Adam)
• A brief history of climate targets and technological promises (Duncan McLaren)
• SkS New Research for Week #24 (Doug Bostrom)
• Will Fusion Power solve Climate Change? (Climate Adam)
• IEA: Coronavirus ‘accelerating closure’ of ageing fossil-fuelled power plants (Josh Gabbatiss)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #25 (John Hartz)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #25 (John Hartz)

Climate Feedback Claim Review...

Low solar activity has little effect on Earth’s climate, contrary to claim in The Sun

CLAIM: “The sun has gone into ‘lockdown’ which could cause freezing weather, earthquakes and famine, say scientists. Nasa scientists fear it could be a repeat of the Dalton Minimum, which happened between 1790 and 1830 — leading to periods of brutal cold, crop loss, famine and powerful volcanic eruptions.”

VERDICT: 

SOURCE: The sun has gone into ‘lockdown’ which could cause freezing weather, earthquakes and famine, say scientists by Chris Pollard, The Sun (UK), May 13, 2020

KEY TAKE AWAY: Although solar activity is currently in a quiet phase, this is typical of the 11-year cycle in the Sun’s energy output. The effect of low solar activity on the Earth’s climate is small compared to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Low solar activity has little effect on Earth’s climate, contrary to claim in The Sun, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Claim Review, Climate Feedback, May 21, 2020

UPDATES:

(May 22, 2020): After this post was published, the headlines and bodies of articles in The Sun and the New York Post were corrected to clarify that low solar activity does not cause brutal cold, crop loss, famine, or volcanic eruptions. These articles now include disclaimers saying previous versions of the articles included misleading claims.

May 27, 2020): After this post was published, the headline and body of an article in The Daily Mail was corrected to clarify that solar activity cycles have little effect on the Earth’s climate.

SkS Week in Review... 

• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #24 by John Hartz (SkS Original)
• Sea-level rise likely to swallow many coastal mangrove forests by Jeff Masters (Yale Climate Connections Repost)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #23, 2020 by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
• No silver lining: The COVID-19 pandemic won't slow climate change by Daniel Grossman (Yale Climate Connections Repost)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #23 by John Hartz (SkS Original)

Poster of the Week...