On the plus side: Bloomberg Asia says the coronavirus outbreak has cut China's carbon footprint

Brett T. | 5:01 PM on February 26, 2020

If you’ve been waiting for some good news about the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg Asia has you covered. Somebody on the ball conducted a two-week study in January and concluded that the effects of the coronavirus, such as people staying indoors and factories closing, has cut China’s carbon emissions by about 100 million metric tons, or what Chile emits in a year.

The #coronavirus has cut China's carbon dioxide emissions by about 100 million metric tons.
That's almost equal to Chile's emissions in a year. https://t.co/3bLtIdVIz3 (Video via @QuickTake) pic.twitter.com/Y7yaNY8BZ4

— Bloomberg Asia (@BloombergAsia) February 25, 2020

If the coronavirus keeps on doing its thing, China could reduce its annual carbon footprint by 1 percent; but then again, maybe someone will find a cure and all those factories will fire up again.

It’s a pity it hasn’t cut these ridiculous CO2 obsessed tweets by 100 million.

— Jamie (@FrizerTizer) February 26, 2020

I feel like environmentalists will start to praise this damn virus ?

— Kennayyy (@Kennayyy1) February 26, 2020

The silver lining.

— Julie (@Juliethewarrior) February 25, 2020

#GoTeamCovid19

— NIDCLXVI (@NIDCLXVI1) February 26, 2020

So Greta should be happy, right?

— Wvlfen (@Wvlfen) February 26, 2020

I guess this coronavirus is actually a good thing if you’re a die-hard environmentalist. Greta Thunberg MAY smile for the first time in her life because the air in China is so much cleaner now ?????☀️✨. Hooray for Covid-19?

— whatnow (@whatnow95785272) February 26, 2020