What Has CoVID-19 Done for Our Environment?

Times like these bind us together. We have all become vulnerable, we have all become part of a reshaped society, and we all now stand at the face of crisis. The novel CoVID-19 has become a global health crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis, and a human crisis. It has contained us in our homes and reoriented our relationship with the outside world. What, then, does the outside world look like now? There are more than 850,000 cases and 40,000 deaths worldwide, and the numbers keep rising everyday. There are more than 170,000 recoveries globally, and this number too rises everyday. Unlike these numbers, however, global carbon emissions have decreased. Industrial operations have halted, aviation has halted, and commuting has halted. As a result, we are given this: unpolluted blue skies.

By May, carbon emissions should normally be at its highest due to both pollution and decomposing leaves as we move into summer, but 2020 will see a complete change in carbon trends. Scientists have predicted that the levels will reach as low as the numbers of 2008’s financial crisis–a number that we have not seen for a while. China–a country that contributes approximately 30% to the world’s carbon emissions–is facing a dramatic drop in carbon dioxide emissions of around 25%, according to the Finnish air pollution research organization CREA (Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air). Furthermore, satellite images released by the European Space Agency and NASA display an immense change in China’s nitrogen dioxide emissions, a pollutant produced by vehicles, factories, and power plants. 

In New York, rush-hour traffic has reached astonishing lows, traffic congestion levels have exponentially decreased, and thus, carbon monoxide levels have dropped immensely. According to Professor Róisín Commane of Columbia University, it is now “less than half of what we normally see in March.” Meanwhile, Venice is experiencing, for the first time in a long time, clear water in its canals. “Good quality air days,” according to China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, has increased 21.5% in February in the Hubei province, the source of the novel coronavirus. CoVID-19 is not solely a pandemic or a health crisis; it has transformed into a social event, a human event, and a climate event.

However, one must not forget that after the 2008 financial crisis, carbon emissions increased immediately due to boosted fossil fuel use and economic re-stimulation. In light of this, Jacqueline Klopp, the co-director of Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Urban Development poses a question for us all: “Do we want to go back to the status quo, or do we want to tackle these big structural problems and restructure our economy and reduce emissions and pollution?”

Thus, the question comes down to this: are these changes only temporary? Will businesses want to hike up production in the future to make up for their losses? Would this all be counterproductive in terms of our planet’s health? Experts have warned the public that the reduction in carbon emissions is temporary, unless some societal change, or some imperative governmental policy change is adopted. Perhaps nature is sending us a message. The chance is given to governments now to act on two problems we humans face together: CoVID-19 and climate change.

References

Chow, Denise. “Coronavirus Shutdowns Have Unintended Climate Benefits: Cleaner Air, Clearer Water.” NBCNews, NBCUniversal News Group, 19 Mar. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/coronavirus-shutdowns-have-unintended-climate-benefits-n1161921.

Mair, Simon. “How Will Coronavirus Change the World?” BBC Future, BBC, 31 Mar. 2020, www.bbc.com/future/article/20200331-covid-19-how-will-the-coronavirus-change-the-world.

Schwartz, John. “Social Distancing? You Might Be Fighting Climate Change, Too.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/climate/coronavirus-habits-carbon-footprint.html.

Wright, Rebecca. “There's an Unlikely Beneficiary of Coronavirus: The Planet.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Mar. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/asia/china-pollution-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html?sc_src=email_312545&sc_lid=19085795&sc_uid=oG1mqidbMd&sc_llid=8970&sc_eh=020c222229fd68a81&utm_source=Emarsys&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GOOD%2BNEWS.