Scientists study effect of massive carbon emissions cut due to pandemic
A new report by the International Energy Agency concludes that the coronavirus pandemic is delivering the biggest shock to the international energy system in more than seven decades. Global energy demand is down six percent this year. That’s ten times more than the drop in demand from the 2008-2009 recession. And demand for coal is down eight percent. That’s the biggest drop since World War II. This huge decline in energy demand has led to an eight percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions, the largest decrease ever recorded. But the United Nations says we would have to have similar decreases every year for the next decade in order to reverse the effects of climate change. Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and the co-author of “What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism” and “Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation” from Monthly Review Press, joins the show.