COVID and the Climate Crisis - Lessons Learnt?
Megan Elsmore
COVID-19 presents the greatest global challenge since the Second World War; a challenge that most of us never thought we would experience. However, in the face of this global health crisis, humanity has unified, demonstrating its strength and perseverance.
Many of us have experienced significant financial and emotional hardships throughout this time. However, these drastic lifestyle alterations have revitalised our sense of community, and helped us recognise a collective responsibility to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Now it is time to do the same for the climate crisis.
It’s time to protect the health of our environment. Photo: Pixabay.
As a result of the lockdown restrictions required to combat the coronavirus, we have been forced to modify the way we interact with the environment on a larger scale than ever before. The limitation of travel, social interaction, and consumerism are just a few examples of how capable we are of immense change in the face of adversity.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the revival of our environment seemed an almost impossible goal. Yet, as a result of the strict and widespread measures imposed by governments across the globe, we have started to see signs of environmental recovery. We have been inundated with videos of goats taking over Welsh towns, turtle hatchlings reaching the oceans unhindered, and fish returning to cleaner Venetian canals.
Turtles have been seen hatching on beaches abandoned by humans. Photo: Pixabay.
Perhaps most notably, we have seen a reduction in air pollution to a point where the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals now seem achievable. This reduction in air pollution provides not only environmental benefits, but also health benefits. The World Health Organisation estimate 4.2 million annual deaths result from ambient air pollution, and if we work to keep reducing emission rates post-lockdown, many lives may be saved long-term.
We have proven time and time again how resilient our species can be, and as with every other challenge we have faced, we will recover from the coronavirus. However, when we do we must ensure that our environmental progress is not lost.
We have seen planes grounded and less cars on the road… can we keep it that way? Photo: Pixabay.
The coronavirus has provided a stark wakeup call to re-evaluate how we utilise the environment. A study by Dr Ogen suggests that air pollution may be linked to higher COVID-19 mortality, making the health of the environment more relevant than ever.
Our exploitation of natural resources has made both our planet and ourselves unhealthy. Many viruses are zoonotic, with both SARS and MERS suspected to have originated from bats. As temperatures rise from global warming, insect-vector diseases such as malaria are likely to become more prevalent, and if we continue to ignore these issues then many more viruses – some of which may prove even more dangerous – are likely to follow.
Air pollution may be linked to higher COVID 19 mortality. Reducing our emissions could be more important than ever before. Photo: Pixabay.
This unprecedented period of lockdown has allowed the planet to begin recovering in our absence. This is not the first time the environment has responded in this way. Most recently, during the 2008-09 financial crisis, CO2 emissions dropped by approximately 0.4 Gigatonnes. This reduction could have provided us with the opportunity for a cleaner future, however, we failed to capitalise on it and instead rushed eagerly towards an even more polluted world as emissions rebounded (and surpassed) to their previous levels. Now the environment has started to show signs of recovery once again, and at such a pivotal time for climate change, we must ensure that we maintain our momentum, and progress towards a greener future.
A cleaner future is within reach. Photo: Pixabay.
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