Sustainability Sunday: The Climate and COVID-19

by Hannah Paul

Hey CO ASDA!

It’s been a minute, but I’m back with another green gab! :) So, I promise, I do have some more dental-specific posts planned for the future, but this topic has been on my mind recently, and I feel it is an important one for people to keep in mind during such a tumultuous time. As we’ve seen with the current pandemic, even environmental/sustainability topics that have little to no direct relation with our lives or career can still impact us profoundly. Though it’s not going away anytime soon, I wanted to capitalize on COVID to look into its emergence, environmental effects and thoughts on how to move forward. I won’t do it justice since this is quite a complicated and multifaceted issue, but I’ll explore it a bit.

Having upended our entire way of life, this pandemic has really brought to light just how vulnerable we are to environmental hazards. In a Guardian article, UN authorities state that it has shown how “current economic thinking does not recognize that human wealth depends on nature’s health.” SARS-CoV-2 is suspected to have originated in bats, then spreading via an unidentified intermediate host to humans in what is called a zoonotic, or animal to human, spillover event. Both its coronavirus predecessors, SARS and MERS, were likewise spillover events along with 60-70% of all emergent diseases since 1990. Climate change, deforestation, and the wildlife trade are significant drivers of vector-borne diseases. Rising temperatures increase the range of vector species, permitting their migration to previously inaccessible habitats. These habitats are often home to humans, thereby increasing the interactions between humans and vectors.

Deforestation broadens the interface between nature and humans, likewise facilitating more frequent interactions with vectors. Additionally, bats and other common vector animals more readily adapt to disturbed and deforested areas. The international wildlife trade, both legal and illegal, by nature brings foreign species into new environments, exposing both humans and native organisms to unfamiliar pathogens. Thus, the likelihood of future zoonotic spillovers (and by extension, future pandemics) occurring is rising along with these factors. According to Dr. Seth Berkeley, this is an "evolutionary certainty" that we must be prepared for and work to prevent.

In addition to underscoring this frightening reality, the pandemic has also contributed to rising rates of poaching and deforestation as suffering economies drive food scarcity and decreased government enforcement. The EPA has loosened environmental restrictions, claiming relief for industries during the pandemic, indefinitely opening the door for unreported pollution. China has also invested in more coal power plants to spur a quick economic recovery. And of course, record unemployment and the economic downturn has reached every corner of the globe, especially impacting the poor. COVID-19 has succeeded in highlighting vast socioeconomic inequalities that plague our nation, greatly emphasizing the need to address them. Whether political momentum will be sufficient to respond remains to be seen.

Some positives of the pandemic are that people are spending more time outdoors and in nature, improving emotional wellbeing. Due to drops in air travel, transportation, and economic activity, there was significantly less oil consumption and air pollution was visibly reduced in many areas as this Nasa Earth Observatory photo to the right shows. According to an NPR article, the global carbon emissions are predicted to drop by about 8% this year. This might seem like a disproportionate amount considering how much the economy and our daily lives have suffered, but historically, it’s actually unprecedented. This decrease will take us back to the emissions levels of 10 years ago and is even greater than the drop associated with the 2008 economic recession. If this level of yearly emissions reductions was maintained until 2030, we would be on track to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Given, this is subject to change depending on the responses of individual countries. Wildlife may also be enjoying a respite from human activity (although a few of the viral instances have been identified as hoaxes). Unfortunately, despite these silver linings, it seems to me that the net environmental impact is more likely negative than positive.

However, for me and many others, being forced to come to terms with a new way of existence in response to one existential threat begs the question of how we might do so in response to another, even more consequential one. The response to COVID-19 has been in a sense a global experiment in human behavior proving that it is possible to enact rapid, sweeping change given an imminent threat to human health. Maybe it’s just naïve optimism, but I see this as proof that we could respond similarly to the climate crisis and environmental degradation. We have before us an opportunity that we really can’t afford to pass up – the chance to make this moment a turning point in our trajectory. Instead of bailing out a suffering fossil fuel industry, why not invest in a green recovery that includes dramatically scaling up renewable energy use to continue on this path of emissions reductions? The obvious need and desire to prevent future pandemics could likewise spur international collaboration to combat deforestation and regulate wildlife trade. After witnessing the indisputable consequences of poverty and inequality on human health, we might finally have the political will to redistribute funding and resources, ensuring that all people are supported in a just transition to a sustainable future. Or, we could repeat the past, opting for short term economic gains based on carbon-intensive practices, prompting an even greater increase in emissions than before the crisis. Thus, we find ourselves at a crossroads facing a choice between a just, sustainable recovery and a regressive, nearsighted stopgap.

There are some encouraging signs. An Ipsos survey published in June (see above) reflected that the majority of people polled from 16 major countries believed that governments should make environmental protection a priority in COVID recovery. Also, the European Union has not backed away from their Paris Climate commitments and has proposed a recovery package that devotes a fourth of funding toward environmental protections. Though not fully approved, this represents the kind of efforts we need to embrace in order to truly recover and progress to a more resilient society. The World Bank, World Resources Institute and the International Energy Agency have all developed plans and resources to help countries develop a sustainable recovery plan as well. With the current administration, the federal government is not likely to pursue any of these efforts but, personally, I remain hopeful that 2020 elections will bring about a renewed focus on the environment here as well. It is sorely needed. Until then, we as citizens can push for local, grassroots change and demand local governments to invest in a sustainable recovery wherever possible. Especially while experiencing firsthand the devastation of a pandemic, we must understand that without protecting our environment and repairing our relationship with nature, it’s quite likely to happen again.