Where are we on the environment? #4

Global events in December in five headlines, for those interested in the environment, sustainability and energy transition.

1.

The Global Carbon Budget for 2020 predicts that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels will have fallen by 7 percent, as a result of the travel and manufacturing restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

2.

Also in 2020, the amount of material produced by human activity, known as the "anthropogenic mass", will exceed total natural biomass, which derives from all living things. It is estimated that on average, for each person on the globe, anthropogenic mass equal to more than their own bodyweight is produced every week.

3.

Between October 2019 and September 2020 the average temperature in the Arctic was the second highest since 1900. This discovery has been associated with the current climate crisis and the consequent global heating. 2020 will have been one of the three warmest years since 1850.

4.

It has been calculated that one third of all natural world heritage sites is threatened by climate change, including the largest coral reef in the world, the “Great Barrier Reef”.

5.

Salmon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States are dying because of a chemical compound derived from vehicle tyres: the exposure to rainwater containing these toxicants, which are dispersed in the air, is causing acute mortality in the species, particularly when adult salmon migrate towards urban inlets to reproduce.