When whole countries go on a lockdown, factories are closed and foreign air traffic grinds to a halt, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is expected to result in a dramatic decrease in global carbon emissions, as has occurred in China already. While this decline would almost definitely be temporary, it is worth wondering whether the world’s dramatic reaction to coronavirus might provide useful lessons for climate change. Will the works have a low-carbon future with remote jobs and limited flying?
Air pollutant rates and heating emissions in certain towns and regions of the globe see substantial declines as coronavirus affects daily function and travel.
Levels of CO2, the gas responsible for global warming, have also plunged significantly. But after the pandemic, these levels may increase rapidly.
As cities and, in certain instances, whole nations are weathering the pandemic under lockdown; Earth-observing satellites have observed a substantial decrease in the concentration of a specific air pollutant- nitrogen dioxide. This pollutant reaches the environment by vehicle, truck, rail, and power plant pollution.
The decline, seen in China and Europe, has been correlated with strict on – the-ground social-distancing steps. Air emissions are very low these days, but once the lockdown is over, air emissions will significantly damage human health. W.H.O. has calculated that illnesses from exposure to air pollutants — including stroke, cardiac disease, and respiratory diseases — kill around 4.2 million people a year.
Lessons to learn from Coronavirus
The global reaction to the coronavirus epidemic demonstrates that policymakers can take urgent, drastic and stringent emergency steps, which go beyond solely economic considerations, to safeguard the well-being of everyone.
In fact, there are concrete insights and resources that we should draw away from the emergency of coronavirus while we try to combat climate change:
- Act early – The coronavirus pandemic reveals how important early intervention is to prevent disastrous effects. Governments in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have taken quick steps to enforce quarantine and surveillance initiatives, which have had comparatively few infections. By comparison, Italy, whose government has been taking so long to respond, is now the epicenter of the epidemic.
- Go slow, go local – Coronavirus has prompted an abrupt scale-up to how we work and fly. People establish local ties, buy locally, operate from home and restrict consumption to what they need.
Studies also established that concerns over personal well-being pose significant obstacles to political intervention. With social isolation anticipated for months, though, our scaled-down lives will become the “latest standard.” Many people know that there is no inextricable connection between consumption and personal well-being.
- Spend on clean energy – The International Energy Agency (IEA) claims that renewable technology will be “at the core of the coronavirus epidemic action plans.”
The IEA called on policymakers to introduce renewable packages of incentives that rely on clean energy technologies. It also suggests hydrogen and carbon capture require big expenditure to scale them up, which could be supported by the current low interest rates.
Governments may also utilize coronavirus incentive programs to retrain staff to support the emerging “climate” environment to tackle housing, healthcare, ageing and food protection and education issues.
So far, emission levels and pollution levels are also very low. However, expect them both to have a temporary effect on global climate. However, it is also possible that CO2 may take a long time to pick up as per earlier levels. Governments should not consider this as a victory but instead try and enforce similar steps from time to time.
