by Malia Shen
I’m going to begin by offering a bit of honesty: we went back and forth about whether to write this blog at all. Do people really need another “COVID climate” story? Media has already covered most bases, from awe-stricken accounts of city-dwelling animals to the grim outlooks that seem ever so in line with the world’s mood. Yet, if we’ve learned anything in these past days, weeks, months, it’s that silence in the midst of widespread hardship is a mark of complacency, and complacency is, frankly, no longer an option. So we’re here to unpack climate in the time of COVID-19 and why we should still care about the environment in the wake of a deadly pandemic.
Is the COVID-fueled economic slowdown a beacon of hope for consolidated climate action, or is it yet another indicator of how much work is yet to be done?
The world is taking notice of the positive side-effects of the Coronavirus outbreak: less traffic, fewer emissions, and better air quality are among the many phenomena that make up the silver lining to the world economy coming to a screeching halt. Earth seems to be one of the few beneficiaries of Coronavirus; however, not everything points to a net positive impact on the climate. We must worry about “revenge pollution,” a term coined to describe the sharp hike in emissions after a recession as entire industries scramble to gain back lost production. In other words, the estimated 5-7% drop in world annual carbon emissions caused by lockdowns is fragile, unsustainable, and will likely be overtaken by an exponential rise in emissions, as we saw in years following the 2008 financial crisis.
This graph shows spikes in carbon emissions following major economic events: note the dip in emissions during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the immediate spike in emissions in 2010.
Source: Nature.com
Yes, we need economic recovery so that the world population may regain their livelihoods and so that we can soften the aftershock of a global recession, but we cannot simply “bounce back” from this crisis. Not only is this idea unrealistic, it is structurally unsound, leaving us vulnerable to future disasters. According to the UN Environment Programme, a rise in global temperatures caused by GHG emissions correlates with an increase in extreme weather events, disturbances to food production and economic systems, and an increased likelihood of PANDEMICS (go figure).
Image: Pixabay.com
Not all hope is lost! The predominance of climate news during this time must indicate that people really do care about the planet, right? To an extent, yes, this is good news! When we work hard to make positive systemic change, we want to see drastic improvement overnight; this is near impossible. Yet, against all odds, the economic halt due to the virus actually provided us with a tiny taste of this immediate gratification, with unprecedented falls in global emissions in a matter of weeks. Don’t worry if you ate up this great news (I know I did!) — immediate gratification is at the heart of consumerism, which is at the heart of our global economy. To understand how this “I want it now” ideology can be destructive to environmental justice, let take a look at a rising pattern within social justice and equity causes: there is a systemic problem which requires long-term commitment to change, we catch wind of positive (albeit incremental) progress in the news or on social media, and we shift our attention to the next problem, our previous work unfinished. Sound familiar? This teaches us a valuable lesson: we can’t consider our work on the environment finished before we shift focus to economic recovery. These issues should be addressed together!
How do we do this? How do we ensure that our economic recovery is environmentally and generally sustainable? First, rushing back to business as usual is just like shoveling coal on the climate crisis fire (literally) which promises less swift, but perhaps more severe consequences than the pandemic. We should look at this recovery as an opportunity to undertake an energy transition, bulking up renewable energy portfolios around the world. Let’s focus on creating more green jobs, which will leave fewer people susceptible to the financial turmoil we are now so familiar with when declining oil and gas industries become obsolete. Let’s focus on carbon-neutral or carbon-negative production and consumption to rebuild the economy while protecting its longevity. Let’s inject some security and predictability into financial markets by using responsible, sustainable impact-investing methods. Finally, let’s dedicate ourselves to environmental justice and protection for the long haul, showing love for our planet beyond the time of COVID-19.
P.S. We at Climable would like to acknowledge the demonstrations sweeping the United States and the protestors demanding justice for the senseless loss of black lives. They are asking the world to step up and understand how systemic racism underlies every aspect of our daily lives. Because we know that environmental justice and social justice are so deeply connected, and because our team values and loves each and every human being, Climable stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Please visit our social media pages for resources and information on how you can help!