India CO2 emissions witnesses drop for the first time after almost 40 years

Since the imposition of the first lockdown in the country, we already have been witnessing many changes in our environment every other day, followed by the decrease in emissions of toxic carbon dioxide for the first time in four decades.

According to the latest analysis done by Lauri Myllyvirta and Sunil Dahiya of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air(CREA), Indian Carbon emissions fell by around 15% in March, and are likely to have fallen by 30% in April.

As per analysts power and transportation sectors have major contribution in CO2 pollution in the country while during lockdown as the demand of not only coal but also oil and gas declined by 18% in March, as compared to the previous year, resulted in the fall in CO2 emissions.

In a government-based analysis from various ministries, it is stated that power generated from coal-fired plants fell by 15% in March, and 31% in the first three weeks of April. “In contrast, renewable energy generation increased by 6.4% in March, and saw a slight decrease of 1.4% in the first three weeks of April,” it added. In an earlier study last year, Myllyvirta and Dahiya had predicted a sharp fall in the growth of CO2 emissions due to the slowdown in the expansion of coal-fired electricity generation.
Looks like, the pandemic on the other hand is doing wonders for the earth.