The science, for decades, has been very clear — there is a direct link between these two pictures. Increases in greenhouse gases have tipped the Earth’s energy budget out of balance, trapping additional heat and raising Earth’s average temperature which is causing a dramatic shift in climate and an increase in extreme weather events.
Covid has taught us that we can, as a result of forcing remote work, remove large numbers of vehicles off the road, resulting in dramatic reductions in NO2 and CO2 emissions across hundreds of cities. (See Coronavirus: lockdown’s effect on air pollution provides a rare glimpse of low-carbon future)
We need to do this permanently. We need to do this NOW.
We know that road transportation is responsible for almost 12% of global emissions.