March 28, 2024 21:31 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture': PM posts after 600 lawyers write to CJI | Comments on our electoral, legal processes completely unacceptable: India on US' remarks over Kejriwal arrest | Delhi High Court rejects PIL seeking removal of Arvind Kejriwal as CM | MHA extends AFSPA in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh for 6 months | Encourage fair, transparent and legal process: US comments again on Kejriwal's arrest
World Ocean benefits from reduced pollution sparked by COVID-19 – Ocean alliance

World Ocean benefits from reduced pollution sparked by COVID-19 – Ocean alliance

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 27 Mar 2020, 11:57 am

Moscow/Sputnik/UNI:  Andrei Savenkov - The World Ocean is benefiting from the reduction of pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic brought about by temporarily disrupted air traffic and diminished production, among other things, Paul Holthus, president of the World Ocean Council (WOC), told Sputnik.

The WOC is a global business association promoting corporate ocean responsibility.

With flight restrictions and the millions of people under quarantine worldwide, COVID-19's surprising effect on climate has become more apparent in recent months. According to the European Space Agency, nitrogen dioxide emissions (NO2) have fallen drastically in Italy, the hardest-hit European nation. Moreover, water in the canals of Venice has become clear for the first time in a very long while.

"Because of reducing pollution in several ways – most documented and publicized has been the reduction in air emissions – but anything that is reducing CO2 will be beneficial to the ocean, in the whole cycle of carbon dioxide that leads to ocean acidification," Holthus said, when asked whether the health of the World Ocean would improve in light of the reduced pollution.

Yet, with the international community expected to resume transport and industries once the outbreak is gone, it is important to continue finding ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to preserve the health of the World Ocean, the WOC president added.

"It's such a small change in such a short period of time that we need to not lose sight of the urgency to deal with the long-term climate change and ocean change issues that have serious consequences for the future," Holthus said.

Experts, who were interviewed by Sputnik last week, predict that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, caused by the slowdown of industrial activities in China and the global halt on flights, will be short-lived and should not mislead governments into thinking that clean energy transition investment may be put on a back burner until the economy recovers from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.