Though factories have shut, planes have been grounded and cars left in the garage, the coronavirus pandemic is having very little impact on climate change, the World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday.

Any reductions in pollution and carbon dioxide emissions are likely to be temporary, said Lars Peter Riishojgaard, from the infrastructure department of the WMO, a United Nations agency based in Geneva.

"It does not mean much for climate," he told a virtual press conference.

Riishojgaard said there was a lot of media speculation about what impact the global pandemic might have on the climate, greenhouse gas emissions and longer-term global warming.

"The answer to that is it probably does not mean very much," he said.

While in the short term, carbon dioxide emissions would go down as cars stay put and aircraft remain on the ground, "we expect the impact will be fairly short-lived," Riishojgaard said.

"The pandemic will be over at some point and the world will start going back to work and with that, the CO2 emissions will pick up again, maybe or maybe not to quite the same level."

He said visibility in cities such as New Delhi had improved because there were fewer traffic-emitting fumes, but cautioned that it was only down to an "artificial halt" to normal activity.

"You could see it as maybe science experiment: what happens if all of a sudden we turn the whole thing off?" said Riishojgaard.

"It will lead some people, and perhaps also some governments, to rethink."

He reflected on China shutting down much industrial production during the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

"They demonstrated very clearly that you can absolutely, if you have enough control over the situation, you can turn off the air pollution," he said.

"But I don't think we should claim victory here yet because things will pick up again eventually."

UN's COP26 climate summit postponed due to coronavirus
London (AFP) April 2, 2020 - The UN's COP 26 climate change summit due to take place in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British government said on Wednesday.

"In light of the ongoing, worldwide effects of COVID-19, holding an ambitious, inclusive COP26 in November 2020 is no longer possible," the government said in a statement, adding that dates for a rescheduled conference in 2021 would be announced later.

Some 30,000 people, including 200 world leaders, had been due to attend the 10-day conference for crucial talks to halt rising global temperatures.

A UN panel in 2018 concluded that avoiding global climate chaos needed a major shift in society and the world economy.

Global CO2 emissions needed to drop 45 percent by 2030 and reach "net zero" by 2050 to limit temperature rises at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) -- the safe cap set as a goal in the Paris accord.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he supported the decision to postpone as "the need to suppress the virus and safeguard lives is our foremost priority".

"This dramatic human crisis is also an example of how vulnerable countries, societies and economies are to existential threats," he said in a statement.

"Countries must work to protect the health of people and the planet has never been more at risk."

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said postponement was unavoidable but that the pandemic should not divert the world from the climate change challenge.

"COVID-19 is the most urgent threat facing humanity today, but we cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term," she said.

Climate activists recognised the need to delay the conference because of the global health crisis, but urged governments not to forget their climate commitments.

"While events can be postponed, climate change won't pause even for a pandemic of epic proportions," said Alden Meyer, a climate negotiations specialist.

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