Coronavirus outbreak slashes China carbon emissions: study

The coronavirus epidemic that has paralysed the Chinese economy may have a silver lining for the environment.

China's carbon emissions have dropped by least 100 million metric tonnes over the past two weeks, according to a study published on Wednesday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in Finland.

That is nearly six per cent of global emissions during the same period last year.

The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus -- which has killed over 2,000 and infected more than 74,000 people across China -- has led to a drop in demand for coal and oil, resulting in the emissions slump, the study published on the British-based Carbon Brief website said.

Over the past two weeks, daily power generation at coal power plants was at a four-year low compared with the same period last year, while steel production has sunk to a five-year low, researchers found.

China is the world's biggest importer and consumer of oil, but production at refineries in Shandong province -- the ..