Effect of COVID-19 virus on reducing GHG emission and increasing energy generated by renewable energy sources: A brief study in Malaysian context

Abstract

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has globally affected the human mortality rate and economic history of the modern world. According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 has caused a severe threat to the health of the vulnerable groups, notably the elderly. There is still some disagreements regarding the source of the virus and its intermediate host. However, the spread of this disease has caused most countries to enforce strict curfew laws and close most industrial and recreational centres. This study aims to show the potential positive effects of COVID-19 on the environment and the increase of renewable energy generation in Malaysia. To prevent the spread of this disease, Malaysia enacted the Movement Control Order (MCO) law in March 2020. Implementation of this law led to a reduction in environmental pollution, especially air pollution, in this country. The greenhouse gases (GHG) emission , which was 8 Mt CO 2 eq. from January 2020 to March 2020, reduced to <1 Mt CO 2 eq. for April and May. The reduction of GHG emission and pollutant gases allowed more sunlight to reach photovoltaic panels, hence increasing the renewable energy generation.

Pandemic and bills: The impact of COVID-19 on energy usage of schools in South Africa

“…COVID-19 affected many important sectors in South Africa and globally, which had an impact on energy usage. These sectors included the health [27,28], food [29], environmental [30][31][32] and economic sectors [33,34]. The manner in which these sectors were affected also had influence on the energy sector due to COVID-19 regulations [35][36][37][38][39][40].…”

Environmental management strategy in response to COVID-19 in China: Based on text mining of government open information

“…The environmental impact caused by the outbreak has been extensively studied ( Rume and Islam, 2020 ; Saadat et al, 2020 ). Positive impacts include the reduction of particulate matter and NO 2 concentration in the air ( Chen et al, 2020 ; Lokhandwala and Gautam, 2020 ), the reduction of noise ( Ibn-Mohammed et al, 2021 ), and the reduction of energy consumption leading to lower GHG emissions ( Naderipour et al, 2020 ; Wang and Su, 2020 ). The negative effects are mostly due to the massive production of medical waste and wastewater caused by the surge in confirmed cases ( Sarkodie and Owusu, 2020 ; Urban and Nakada, 2020 ), and mass production of personal care products ( Fadare and Okoffo, 2020 ; Prata et al, 2020 ; Rhee, 2020 ).…”

Lockdown impact on power systems based on experience curves and complementary bottom-up assessments during COVID-19

“…In the context of Malaysia, reduced emission of Green-House Gases (GHGs) had been seen in the country. The primary focus was on shifting toward nonconventional energy as the primary energy source for the country (Naderipour et al 2020). This was done mainly to improve the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the county to reduce the transmission of the novel CoVID-19 SARS virus.…”