article
Emissions Reduction of Greenhouse Gases, Ozone Precursors, Aerosols and Acidifying Gases from Road Transportation during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Colombia
Autor
Camargo Caicedo, Yiniva
Mantilla Romo, Laura Carolina
Bolaño Ortiz, Tomas Rafael
Institución
Resumen
The aim of this work was to analyze the changes in the emissions from the transport
sector during the COVID-19 lockdown in Colombia. We compared estimated emissions from road
transportation of four groups of pollutants, namely, greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O), ozone
precursor gases (CO, NMVOC, NOx), aerosols (BC, PM2.5, PM10), and acidifying gases (NH3, SO2),
during the first half of 2020 with values obtained in the same period of 2018. The estimate of emissions
from road transportation was determined using a standardized methodology consistent with the
2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories and the European Environment Agency/European Monitoring and Evaluation
Program. We found a substantial reduction in GHG emissions for CH4, N2O, and CO2 by 17%,
21%, and 28%, respectively. The ozone precursors CO and NMVOC presented a decrease of 21%
and 22%, respectively, while NOx emissions were reduced up to 15% for the study period. In
addition, BC decreased 15%, and there was a reduction of 17% for both PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.
Finally, acidifying gases presented negative variations of 19% for SO2 and 23% for NH3 emissions.
Furthermore, these results were consistent with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite
observations and measurements at air quality stations. Our results suggest that the largest decreases
were due to the reduction in the burning of gasoline and diesel oil from the transport sector during
the COVID-19 lockdown. These results can serve decision makers in adopting strategies to improve
air quality related to the analyzed sector.