As a result of the lockdowns around the world to control the coronavirus outbreak, huge decreases in aerial transportation and industrial output resulted in a considerable drop in daily global carbon emissions of 17% in April of this year. However, COVID-19 is also prompting lackluster responses by governments that could pose detrimental impacts on the environment and on the ability to combat climate change. It is imperative that more large-scale actions be introduced in global legislatures to avoid the worst impacts of this crisis.
Overall, international agreements on Climate Change mitigation and adaptation have been halted due to the pandemic. The World Conservation Congress, responsible for gauging global conservation levels, has been postponed to January 2021. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which would have established new global measures to protect wildlife and plants from climate change and other threats, has also been postponed until next year. Lastly, The 2020 U.N. Ocean Conference scheduled for June this year has been delayed. All of these pushbacks have led many governments to temporarily devote their attention to other pressing issues regarding Public Health. As a result, due to the virus threatening the finances and economic output of many countries, many of the financial pledges towards implementing target-based practices to mitigate emissions may be largely overlooked in the coming months, or years.
Many of the root causes of climate change also increase the prevalence of global pandemics. Deforestation, which occurs mostly for agricultural purposes (a significant cause of Climate Change), is the largest cause of habitat loss worldwide. It has been argued that loss of habitat forces animals to migrate and potentially contact other animals or people, thus transmitting viral or bacterial matter. Large livestock farms can also serve as a source for spillover of infections from animals to society.Recent research has also found that people who live in places with poor air quality (another principle cause of Climate Change) are more likely to die from COVID-19 even when accounting for other factors that may influence risk of death such as pre-existing medical conditions, socioeconomic status, and access to healthcare.
On the contrary, the high infectivity rate of the virus has compelled city governments to implement curfews and lockdowns, which can have an impact on carbon emissions levels. Furthermore, to avoid public transportation and contact with possible infected individuals, cities like Oakland, CA introduced Slow Streets, which banned cars on 74 miles of streets, encouraging slower driving and promoting biking and walking. New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Seattle have followed suit by implementing street closures, which in turn, decreases vehicular usage. Brookline, MA, a Boston suburb, used temporary structures to widen sidewalks and increase bike lanes. Moreover, European cities have also expanded biking initiatives. Barcelona added 13 miles of city streets for biking, with Berlin incorporating 14 new miles of bike lanes into their vast network. Though air pollution levels have decreased considerably within the last few months, this should not take precedence over the progress that must be met in addressing Climate Change at a global scale, particularly once the virus becomes contained and a vaccine is finalized and distributed.
Sources:
COVID-19’s Long-Term Effects on Climate Change—For Better or Worse
Tim,
You are on the mark with this blog post. While it is interesting and helpful, in the near term, that the pandemic has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of fossil fuel for transportation, etc. it is fairly evident that this is a purely temporary situation. As soon as there is a vaccine, and people decide that it’s safe to move about again, the rate of GHG emissions is likely to go back up.
And you are also right that the pandemic has caused the postponement or cancellation of many international meetings and conferences where issues of climate change and loss of biodiversity are addressed. More worrisome, as you point out, is that governments have been forced (or have chosen) to divert funds that might have been earmarked for climate adaptation and transition away from fossil fuels to deal with the pandemic. But the global clock is ticking; and it the countries of the world fail to reach carbon neutrality by about the year 2050, we are likely to exceed the so-called “climate tipping point” where some of the most serious effects of global warming (e.g., melting of the polar ice caps) will become irreversible. A worrisome prospect to be sure!
–Professor Wallerstein