On Monday, we discussed the possibility that the coronavirus outbreak could interrupt global trade and just-in-time manufacturing, causing car makers to miss ambitious new European carbon emissions regulations. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but in the meantime, the virus has had a concrete effect on CO 2 , and it's surprisingly positive when seen through the lenses of climate change and air pollution.

According to a report in CarbonBrief, the disruption to China's economy has meant that the country has emitted about 25 percent less CO 2 into the atmosphere over the past two weeks than it would if businesses were operating as normal. Traditionally, everything shuts in China for the Lunar New Year celebrations, then kicks back into gear a week later.

But not this year. Factories and other businesses have remained shuttered. Coal-use at power plants is at a four-year low. Oil and steel production are both lower than at any point since the Chinese economy suffered a slowdown in 2015. And domestic air travel has been seriously curtailed as the Chinese government attempts to contain the spread of the epidemic. All told, this equates to about 100 million fewer tons of CO 2 in the atmosphere, or a 6 percent reduction of global emissions. Assuming that China's economy doesn't get put into overdrive to compensate, that could well mean that we see global CO 2 levels remain flat or even possibly decrease slightly by the end of 2020.

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Another measure of air pollution has also been significantly ameliorated by the coronavirus outbreak. According to satellite measurements, Chinese NOlevels have been 39 percent lower for the past two weeks compared to the same period in 2019. That will be welcome news to those infected with the respiratory infection, given that nitrogen oxides are powerful lung irritants and are responsible for an estimated 38,000 premature deaths as a result of the diesel emissions scandal.