摘要

气候变化洞察:从COVID-19大流行中学到的关键因素

作者(年代):觉丹乌，莫莫梭丁

温度、降雨量、降水或风力模式的长期变化被称为“气候变化”。由于气候变化，自然灾害预计将变得更加频繁和严重，对社会、经济和环境产生负面影响。当代气候变化的主要原因是人为活动。另一方面，任何人为引起的气候变化都将被置于广泛的空间和时间范围内发生的自然气候变化的背景之上。大多数人都不知道塑料是由化石燃料制成的。塑料消费量约占世界石油消费量的6%，预计到2050年将上升到20%。由于提取和蒸馏石油所必需的能源密集型操作，塑料制造业产生大量的温室气体(GHG)排放。本研究回顾了COVID-19大流行如何暂时减少了温室气体排放，同时增加了对一次性塑料的需求，为已经失控的全球塑料垃圾灾难增加了负担。在缺乏有效治疗的情况下，世界各国政府已强制采取封锁措施，居民也自愿限制非必要的旅行和活动。截至2020年4月初，与2019年的平均水平相比，全球每日二氧化碳排放量下降了- 17%(- 11%至- 25%)，地面交通的变化占降幅的一半不到。 Individual countries' emissions declined by 26% on average when they were at their peak. The impact on 2020 yearly emissions is dependent on the length of confinement, with a low estimate of –4% (–2 to –7%) if prepandemic circumstances recover by mid-June and a high estimate of –7% (–3 to –13%) if some limitations stay in place globally until the end of 2020. The total global CO2 reduction from January to April 2020 is expected to be more than 1749 Mt CO2 (a 14.3% decrease), with transportation accounting for the majority (58%) of the reduction, next off coal power generation (29%), and industry (10%). The COVID-19 pandemic has raised demand for single-use plastics, putting to the pressure on a worldwide plastic waste crisis that is already unmanageable. This Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MMPW) is subsequently released into the environment, with some of it ending up in the ocean. The MMPW generated by the pandemic will be 11 million tons, culminating in a global riverine discharge of 34,000 tons into the ocean. As of August 23rd 2021, 193 countries had produced 8.4 (+/-1.4) million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste, with 25.9 (+/-3.8) thousand tons dumped into the ocean, amounting to 1.5 percent (+/-0.2%) of global total riverine plastic discharge. Because of India's record-breaking confirmed cases, MMPW generation and discharge are projected to be more skewed toward Asia. As a result, transportation was identified as the primary source of more than half of the emissions reductions during the epidemic. This strongly suggests that changing typical working patterns, such as reducing commuting to work, working from home, and conducting online meetings or site visits, can have a real impact on GHG emissions. A considerable amount of the outflow is medical waste, which increases the risk to the environment and human health, or even the COVID-19 virus being spread. This demonstrates how waste management necessitates structural modifications. This review will aid individuals in comprehending the updating of the GHG management policy and use of plastic and its environmental repercussions in the event of a pandemic such as COVID-19.