During a period when our human world has ceased working, the natural world continues on. Over the past year, COVID-19 has led to a massive halt in countless transportation systems and industries across the world. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have been decreasing at an unprecedented rate - in the spring of 2020, China, the world’s largest emitter, reduced its carbon emissions by approximately 18% in one month’s time. This has prevented around 250 million metric tons of carbon from polluting the environment. In fact, citizens residing in smog-filled cities, such as Beijing, have reported rare glimpses of clear, blue skies. Unexpectedly, this deadly virus has helped us mitigate one of the most pressing crises of our time: climate change.
However, this benefit has come at the expense of millions of human lives, and it reflects an unfortunate aspect of our modern society. Deep down, we know this sudden improvement in conditions is not the reward of our voluntary action but a byproduct of stringent regulations. We also know that even as this editorial is being written, these idealistic circumstances are waning. Our economy cannot permanently survive under current circumstances; neither can the people who need to make a living. Governments are already clamoring to open up as many areas in the workforce as safety protocols allow and as our world returns to normal, any positive impact that the pandemic had on climate change will be wiped away.
But it does not have to be this way. As Yale professor Daniel C. Esty says, if there is one important lesson that COVID-19 has taught us, it is that we can not constantly be asking ourselves, “What’s the cost of taking action?” because “[t]he cost of inaction is high, too.” This pandemic has woken people up. Many measures taken to combat the virus have resulted in substantial damage to the economy, but they have proved necessary to save lives in the long run. The same goes for climate change; our actions need to be firm and definitive. We can no longer allow outside factors to distract us from the central issue, which is protecting a world that is being swallowed by irreversible environmental destruction.
No other time has been so conducive to a momentous change for the better. As economies are reviving, significant sums of money are being invested in recovery programs. These programs can either serve to maintain our long, deleterious history of fossil fuel dependence or carve a new path towards a more eco-friendly direction that will preserve our beautiful planet for generations to come.
COVID-19 has provided us with a fresh start, a new beginning. And we get to decide what we want to do with it.
Author: Yichen Li
Biography: Yichen Li is a Grade 11 student from Dover Bay Secondary School in Nanaimo, BC. She is an executive member of her school's Student Council and President of the Dover Model United Nations Club. Outside of school, Yichen engages in public speaking, writing, and organizing activities around the neighborhood. Passionate about the environment, Yichen hopes that through Adopt Our Community Club, students are presented with opportunities to give back to their community and brighten the lives of those around them.
Works Cited
Horne, Felix, and Hancock, Stephanie. “Can Covid-19 Help Ease the Climate Crisis?” Human Rights Watch, 22 May 2020.
Schlossberg, Tatiana. “Don’t Thank the Virus for Saving the Climate Yet.” The New York Times, 4 June 2020.
Sommer, Lauren. “Why China's Air Has Been Cleaner During The Coronavirus Outbreak” National Public Radio, 4 March 2020.
Stone, Madeleine. “Carbon emissions are falling sharply due to coronavirus. But not forlong.” National Geographic, 3 April 2020.
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