The Effect of COVID - 19 on Our Environment and Climate Change

These maps made available by NASA show concentrations of nitrogen dioxide across China from January 1-20, 2020, before the quarantine against the COVID-19 coronavirus, and February 10-25, during the quarantine. NO2 is a noxious gas emitted by motor vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities. (Joshua Stevens/NASA Earth Observatory, European Space Agency via AP)

The COVID-19 pandemic may offer a beacon of hope for the seemingly impossible battle against climate change.

Climate change has been discussed amongst scientists for over 200 years, but it became a topic of much more frequent discussion within the last 15 years. It can be argued that climate variability and change are the biggest challenges the world has faced in the decades following the industrial revolution. 

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), average temperatures have risen by 1o C due to human activity and emissions. Scientists warn of a point of no return, and advise dilatory actions to keep the average temperature from increasing the expected 2o C within this century. These numbers may seem small, but will have inimical effects on communities and ecosystems: many species will go extinct, agriculture will suffer, and there is no telling what will happen to the millions of people who live in coastal cities. 

Governments, private institutions, and activists go head to head in heated debates discussing possible solutions to this global threat (and many still do not appreciate the legitimacy of this prospect). Nevertheless, this is a global crisis, and we must change our course without delay. 

COVID-19 has prompted a period of synchronized economic and industrial stagnation. In order to slow the spread of the virus (which has led to over 4.3 million confirmed cases and over 300,000 deaths to date (ECDC)), many governments have instituted lockdowns, requiring non-essential workers to stay at home, shutting down factories and keeping drivers off roads. Only a small percentage of commercial airline flights remain operational. 

According to the European Space Agency, nitrogen dioxide (a corrosive gas harmful to plants and animals) levels fell by 40 percent in China after the lockdowns there began. Scientists noticed similar patterns in the United States, Spain, and Italy. 

Furthermore, the planet has seen a global response like never before, and it shows how adaptable we as a species are. Governments and businesses are performing important new roles in response to the coronavirus, altering the way we stay connected to work and socialize. Most of this would not have seemed possible just months ago. 

Even though we may be socially distant, there is still a strong sense of community, and arguably stronger than ever. The response has been marked by empathy, care, and networking. Governments and peoples have found common ground, and are working together to prevent the spread and reduce the impact of the virus on the global community. 

COVID-19 has taught us the importance of sacrifice, as people have restrained from making unnecessary purchases to aid the distribution of life saving equipment. It is this sacrifice and the drive to work together to defeat a common enemy that will have a powerful impact on the future of climate change.

However, these improvements will be short lived, and depending on how we recover from this pandemic, the climate is in more danger than ever. 

Countries will need to boost their economies following the economic torpor. China is the prime example. As travel restrictions are being lifted in the provinces where the pandemic originated, factories and roads are reopening, and it is again business as normal. Directly following this, of course, will be the return of pollution. And depending on how China plans to recover economically, pollution levels may grow worse than pre-pandemic numbers. 

The NGO Global Energy Monitor released a report confirming that China has warranted plans for more coal-fire powered capacity in just the first three weeks of March than in the entire year of 2019, and there is more to come. 

In the United States, the future looks bleak as well. President Trump insists that bailing out fuel-inefficient industries, such as the cruise ship and airline industries, is a “top-priority,” but the bailout plan is missing key environmental provisions pushed for by environmental agencies. That is, bailout money be “contingent on emission reductions.” To make matters worse, there has been little to no talk of bailing out the nation’s renewable energy sector, an industry that took a severe blow due to the pandemic. Plants are closed and sales are down, halting revenue and furloughing thousands of employees. 

Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency stated that companies could be exempt from following environmental laws “indefinitely” if the agency determines the company could not comply with the rules due to the pandemic. But nowhere does it say clearly what the companies have to do to prove this. 

This is a period of history where there is opportunity for reform, and if COVID-19 has brought with it any good, it would be a sense of community, teaching us that people and industries are adaptable, and governments are capable of working together to face a global threat. When we work together, change is possible. The fight against COVID-19 demonstrates that collective, coordinated action can have a large and immediate effect on the environment.