The highest priority for all the governments right now is to first tackle the global coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects. In the last two months, we have seen how our economy along with the whole global system has collapsed and succumbed to the ongoing crisis. It has made us realize that we live in an age in which intersecting crises are being lifted to a global scale, with unseen levels of inequality, environmental degradation and climate destabilization, as well as new surges in populism, conflict, economic uncertainty, and mounting public health threats. All are crises that are slowly tipping the balance, questioning our business-as-usual economic model of the past decades, and requiring us to rethink our next steps. Each and every nation on Earth right now is fighting and trying its best to recover from huge economic losses suffered due to this pandemic.
But let us not lose sight of another emergency that’s being faced by all of us and the very planet itself—the climate emergency. In a recent online press conference, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “The novel coronavirus pandemic is now the world’s top priority. Climate change will have to be put on the back-burner, for now.”
Climate change was at the forefront of the debate among world leaders and societies, but this now seems to be heading for change, with everyone shifting their focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the coronavirus pandemic’s many possible fallout is that it might move global resources away from urgent climate change initiatives. Second, it may contribute to the loss of multilateral-ism in the fight against climate change which had developed in the aftermath of the historic Paris Agreement. Instead, the coronavirus has caused countries to close borders, including within the European Union. A spill-over of these feelings after the COVID-19 crisis has ended could be detrimental to the global fight against climate change, particularly the creation of technological solutions that depend on cooperation across nations.
With markets collapsing all over the globe, corporate ability to invest in advances in renewable energy or switch to low-carbon pathways is likely to be seriously compromised. In addition, long-term supply chain disruptions for renewable technology such as solar and wind power, batteries, and electric cars would have significant implications for current projects in these areas. Extended limits on travel across national boundaries just add to their woes.
Unfortunately, while coronavirus is an immediate threat, climate change has always been perceived as only a distant risk. We’re already reeling under the impact of the former, while the extent of the impact of the latter is still being debated. One threatens the immediate survival and well-being of humans, while the other presents a threat that’s farther down the line, albeit one that concerns not just humans but all flora and fauna on Earth. Sadly, a world under economic depression does not allow for the luxury of worrying about a problem so distant.
The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, due to factors such as the stalling of economic activities, the trend of working from home, and the travel restrictions imposed on people due to the pandemic, can raise false hopes that emissions will be contained in future too. But it must be remembered that this is only a temporary, short-term phenomenon. It’s only a matter of time before the economies of the world rebound and emissions increase.
But this economic crisis presents us with a unique opportunity to reinvent the whole system. One of the key areas for a rethink would be the dependence on fossil fuels, in part to protect citizens from the health risks of environmental pollution; COVID-19 has been known to exacerbate existing respiratory and other health conditions.
According to a new report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s (IISD’s) Global Subsidies Initiative, 56% of India’s energy comes from coal, while another 36% comes from oil and gas. A mere 3% comes from renewable energy. Coal and oil and gas also receive combined subsidies to the tune of ₹83,225 crore. The study recommends all the governments around the world to use the crisis to calibrate wasteful subsidies and target investment towards renewable projects, to expand links to transmission grids and enhance storage capacities. It also looks at the social cost of using fossil fuels, with the increase in premature mortality, air and water pollution and the stress on a burdened healthcare system.
Similar recommendations were made internationally when 180 European CEOs, politicians and lawmakers released a joint letter asking for green investment to restart growth after the pandemic, while focusing on climate change and promoting biodiversity. It’s clear that the pandemic has given us a chance; now all that is required is a shared vision and the political will of global leadership.