Global health crisis opens a new paradigm on climate change

Blog post in collaboration with


Ekomodo

It’s not all bad news with the coronavirus: despite its disastrous consequences for human health and the economy, it appears that the coronavirus epidemic is having positive impacts on the environment. the coronavirus epidemic is having positive impacts on the environment..

At the end of February, a series of satellites detected a significant drop in significant decrease in air pollutants. of the country. Comparing the images, it can be seen how the concentration of nitrogen dioxide plummeted in February compared to January levels, before the blockade of the cities.

Although it is common for the levels of this gas to decrease at this time due to the shutdown of factories for the Lunar New Year, they usually rebound right after. And that has not happened this year.

From China to Venice, the changes have not been long in coming. We are talking about a change in the impact not only of CO2 but also of ecosystems in general.

The impacts observed in Spain are striking. The Reuters images showed a practically clear atmosphere over the province, and this associated with business and factory closures and travel restrictions imposed to deal with the epidemic. travel restrictions imposed to deal with the epidemic.

These factors, which have been spreading throughout the country, have resulted in a considerable drop in the consumption of fossil fuels. In the last week alone, traffic pollution has been reduced by 68% in Madrid and 65% in Barcelona compared to 2019.

ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CORONAVIRUS REALLY POSITIVE?

Experts have mixed opinions on the matter:

• Unfavorable positionOn the one hand, some claim that measures to stimulate the economy after this crisis could lead to a rebound in fossil fuel consumption. (and therefore emissions) above historical averages, as has occurred in previous crises. They believe that, because they are not permanent, these reductions will have little effect on our total emissions.

• Favorable position: On the other hand, there are opinions such as that of Edinburgh University professor Dominic Moran: “20% of the world economy is slowly closing, one in five global flights is being cancelled. Things are never going to be the same again“. Furthermore, it stresses that if consumer demand is reduced (due to unpaid wages during the crisis), industrial production and fossil fuel use may not recover, even if there is capacity to do so.

Faced with a social alarm of this magnitude, there are those who venture to make comparisons:

→ COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 3.5 million people.

→ Air pollution is responsible for 4.5 million deaths per year.

Although the changes in emissions are apparently positive seemingly positiveonly those changes brought about by voluntary voluntarily and with a societal effort, as this crisis is proving to beas this crisis is proving to be, are capable of making an improvement sustainable over time. improvement sustainable over time.

Let’s hope we understand the urgency of the climate crisis in time…

And you, what do you think about it? Is this alarm about the coronavirus justified, or are there other problems that should be of more concern? Let us know what you think in the comments!