India's CO2 Emissions Fall For First Time In Four Decades Due To Covid-19| ABP Uncut

It has happened for the first time that a year-on-year reduction in India’s CO2 emissions in four decades is observed. Emissions fell by around 1 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2020 due to an economic slowdown early this year followed by a National Lockdown in the country. As lower power demand growth and competition from renewable energies in the power sector, coal-fired power generation fell 15 percent in March and 31percent in the first three weeks of April. The trend steepened in March, with coal sales falling 10 percent while coal imports fell 27.5 percent in March, meaning that total deliveries of coal to end users fell by 15 percent, in line with the reduction in power generation. Using the indicators for coal, oil and gas consumption, an estimate that CO2 emissions fell by 30m tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2, 1.4 percent in the fiscal year ending March has been made. Over the past year, CO2 emissions as well as air pollution levels have declined. More recently, the sight of blue skies during the national lockdown across the country has created new hopes for people!