The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Fall in carbon emissions linked to COVID-19 won’t halt climate change, says UN weather agency chief
An expected drop in greenhouse gas emissions linked to the global economic crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic is only “short-term good news”, the head of the UN weather agency said on Wednesday.
“This drop of emissions of six per cent, that’s unfortunately (only) short-term good news,” said Professor Petteri Taalas, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General, a likely reference to a temporary 5.5 to 5.7 per cent fall in levels of carbon dioxide that has been flagged by leading climate scientists including the Center for International Climate Research.
He added: “In the most likely case we would easily go back to the normal (emission levels) next year and there might even be a boost in emissions because some of the industries have been stopped, and so forth.”
Latest data from WMO published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on 22 April indicates thatcarbon dioxide (CO2) levels and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rose to new records last year.
Levels of carbon dioxide were 18 per cent higher from 2015 to 2019 than the previous five years, according to WMO’s Global Climate 2015-2019 report.
The gas “remains in the atmosphere and oceans for centuries. This means that the world is committed to continued climate change regardless of any temporary fall in emissions due to the Coronavirus epidemic,” the report states, with data indicating that CO2 concentrations are on track “to reach or even exceed 410 ppm by the end of 2019”.
The forecasted fall in carbon emissions is mirrored by decreases in levels of common air pollutants from car exhausts and fossil fuel energy, such as nitrous oxide (N2O) particles.
“Their lifetime is typically from days to weeks, so the impact is seen more rapidly,” Professor Taalas said. “But these changes in the carbon emissions, they haven’t had any impact on climate so far.”
Highlighting the dramatic improvement in air quality in major cities and industrialised regions “in several parts of the world”, the WMO chief noted that this has been the case “in China, in India and also here close to us in the Po Valley in northern Italy, which is one of the most polluted areas in Europe. And we have seen that also in individual cities like Paris.”
Climate change was “of a different magnitude” to the problems posed by the new coronavirus, Professor Taalas insisted, underscoring its sometimes fatal health risk, along with a devastating economic impact that “may be lasting for a few years”.
Given the fact that the last 50 years have seen the physical signs of climate change - and their impacts – gathering speed at a dangerous rate, the WMO head insisted that unless the world can mitigate climate change, it will lead to “persistent health problems, especially hunger and inability to feed the growing population of the world and there would be also more massive impact on economics”.
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, carbon dioxide levels have gone up 26 per cent, and the world’s average temperature has increased by 0.86 degrees Celsius (33.5 Fahrenheit).
The planet is also 1.1 degree (nearly 34 Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial era and this trend is expected to continue, WMO said.
In its latest report warning of the impacts of climate change, the UN agency confirmed that the last five years were the hottest on record.
Others key indicators showed an acceleration of climate change in the past five years.
These include ocean heat and acidification, sea level, glacier mass balance and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.
- Wide shot: exterior, Place des Nations, Geneva, with broken chair sculpture and UN Geneva in background.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “This drop of emissions of six per cent, that’s unfortunately short-term good news. So, in the most likely case we would easily go back to the normal (emission levels) next year and there might even be a boost in emissions because some of the industries have been stopped and so forth.”
- Medium shot: from outside UN Geneva with flag alley beyond fence.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “When it comes to pollutants, for example like nitrous oxide; so particles, their lifetime is typically from days to weeks, so the impact is seen more rapidly. But these changes in the carbon emissions, they haven’t had any impact on climate so far.”
- Close-up: UN Geneva flag alley, flags and UN building in background, with UN logo and lettering visible.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “We have also seen improvements in air quality in several parts of the world and that has been the case in China, in India and also here close to us in the Po Valley in northern Italy, which is one of the most polluted areas in Europe. And we have seen that also in individual cities like Paris.”
- Close-up: UN building in bright sunlight, shot from below, showing UN logo and lettering.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “Climate change is of a different magnitude of the problem as compared to COVID; COVID is having short-term health problems - causing health problems for the mankind - and this economic impact may be lasting for a few years.”
- Medium shot: UN flag alley with UN flag in background; all are fluttering gently.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) - Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “And if we are unable to mitigate climate change, we would see persistent health problems, especially hunger and inability to feed the growing population of the world and there would be also more massive impact on economics.”
- Wide shot: UN Geneva, main entrance.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief concerned by upheld convictions of Cambodian activists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , OHCHR
Middle East crisis puts aid, food, fuel further out of reach for millions already struggling – UN agencies
As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and rights of the most vulnerable, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNMAS
Demining experts from around the world have been sharing their collective shock at the widespread and growing threat from unexploded ordnance, the new head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office in Syria conducted a 5-day visit to the northeast of the country where they received accounts of human rights violations and abuses.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Sudan: ‘History repeating itself’ for Darfur’s children - UNICEF
Mass atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur 20 years ago reverberated as far as Hollywood, but today, a new generation of children faces attacks, hunger and displacement in an emergency largely ignored by the outside world, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNMAS
Desperate and dangerous conditions in Gaza continue to hamper recovery efforts for the wartorn enclave's people, the UN health agency said on Friday, while demining experts warned that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in assessing the level of contamination of unexploded ordnance.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News
The continued support of UN Member States to Lebanon will be “indispensable” to boost the country’s national armed forces and provide humanitarian assistance with more than one million people still uprooted by the Middle East war, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNECE
Middle East war: After oil and gas shortages, concerns grow over critical minerals crunch
The shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz caused by war in the Middle East has exposed a new threat: a looming shortage of strategic minerals needed to drive economies all over the world and a race by countries to obtain them.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Millions of desperate Sudanese return home amid dire conditions as war rages – IOM
Three years into the devastating conflict in Sudan, nearly four million displaced people have returned to their places of origin across the country, only to face “another struggle for survival”, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNESCO
UNESCO protects cultural sites in war-torn Middle East, confirming damage to key heritage.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
The war in Gaza has inflicted a far higher toll on women and girls than in previous conflicts in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 38,000 killed by Israeli air bombardment and land military operations since Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel sparked the war in October 2023, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record in South and Southeast Asia, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.