The Influence of COVID-19 on Global CO 2 Emissions and Climate Change: A Perspective from Malaysia

Chung Hong Tan, Mei Yin Ong, Saifuddin M. Nomanbhay, Abd Halim Shamsuddin and Pau Loke Show
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Chung Hong Tan: Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Mei Yin Ong: Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Saifuddin M. Nomanbhay: Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Abd Halim Shamsuddin: Institute of Sustainable Energy (ISE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Pau Loke Show: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih 43500, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in early 2020 prompted a global lockdown from March to July 2020. Due to strict lockdown measures, many countries experienced economic downturns, negatively affecting many industries including energy, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, healthcare, food, education, tourism, and sports. Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a rare opportunity to observe the impacts of worldwide lockdown on global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and climate change. Being the main greenhouse gas responsible for rising global surface temperature, CO 2 is released to the atmosphere primarily by burning fossil fuels. Compared to 2019, CO 2 emissions for the world and Malaysia decreased significantly by 4.02% (?1365.83 MtCO 2 ) and 9.7% (?225.97 MtCO 2 ) in 2020. However, this is insufficient to cause long-term impacts on global CO 2 levels and climate change. Therefore, in this review, we explored the effects of worldwide lockdown on global CO 2 levels, the impacts of national lockdown on Malaysia’s CO 2 emissions, and the influence of climate change in Malaysia.

Keywords: climate change; COVID-19; CO 2; fossil fuel; Malaysia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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