This pandemic is likely to have profound and lasting socialand economic consequences. In the face of such a global turmoil the UNSecretary General has reiterated that Covid- 19 would require a response likenone before – “a war-time plan” in the times of human crisis. While the worldtakes stride closer to this war-time response for building back better, itwould be needed to take on board the environmental indices and to put our headstogether to comprehend what it means for future of human wellbeing. Even thoughthe viral pandemic has forced the closure of gigantic industrial sectors andtraffic around the world is off the roads as a consequence the environmentalsignals are demonstrating that the planet is returning back to better, however,the Covid-19 cannot be considered to be a silver lining for the environment.The visible positive impacts, whether through improved air quality ordiminished green house gas emissions are but transitory as it is mostlyassociated with the tragic economic slowdown and human misery. These are thewords of executive Director UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Ms Inger Andersenwho has cautioned against viewing this as a boon for the environment. She instead emphasized for a profoundsystemic shift towards a more sustainable economy that works for both peopleand the planet. There has been considerable reduction in green house gasemissions and reduction of carbon emissions to approximately 25% of which 10%reduction is on account of reduction in oceanic fossil fuel use. This reflectsthe decline in environmental carbon dioxide levels. The positive environmentalimpact in the face of this pandemic needs therefore to be viewed in changingour production and consumption virtues that would facilitate a cleaner andgreener habitat. It is widely believed that our long term systemic turn outsare for sure to change the trajectory of carbon dioxide levels in theatmosphere; the blind race for more industrial production among the world tradegiants has to be voluntarily ended. There should be no denying the fact that ahealthy planet means fewer diseases. It is the health status of our planet thatplays a pivotal role in deciding the spread of zoonotic diseases which accountfor approximately 1billion cases of illness and millions of deaths from suchdiseases every year. The Covid -19 pandemic associated positive environmentalsignals are calling for a sustainable and plausible post pandemic measures tobe initiated at world level under the auspices of global environmentorganization so that the human world remains human and not merely technologicaland trade world in order to overwhelm the human suffering from environmentalravages. Interestingly the ozone layer in the stratosphere according to theenvironmentalists has started repairing over past two to three months and the isolationor solitary confinement to which people are given to due to lockdown is provingeco-friendly and good for environment. But it is expected to bounce back assoon as the pandemic is over. In China alone the economic slowdown has kept 200megatons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as reported by the Centre forresearch on Energy and Clean Air, a stunning 25% reduction in the country’semissions. Industries wither as workers stay home, also lightening the loads onelectric grids. Ludicrously a pessimistic optimist person would say: well,damn, this is how we save the world from climate change. But a climatescientist would reply: If financial bubbles are any indication, this is only atemporary change. To compensate for the lost money the economic giants likeChina will again roar back with capitalistic mania. The saying that moderneconomies halt for no disease, for long term, seems to be holding water. Chinais reportedly involved in use of coal in power plants and snooping withsatellites on nitrous oxide emissions, considered to be a proxy for industrialactivity. According to Jonathan Foley the executive Director of Climate changeAdvocacy group, if the world wants to go green, it needs to have governments inplace that use subsidies to encourage the adoption of renewable sources ofenergy, rather than continuing with the business as usual. He further said thatthis is surely not the way we want to reduce emissions through diseasepandemics. The Eco-Environment Advocates further say, the Corona virus crisisshould be used as a golden opportunity to prepare US, China and other economiesfor a post-oil world. More e-work or telework as going on nowadays around theworld means less commuting and lesser emissions.
Dr. Muzaffar Shaheen is Professor and Head, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine SKUAST-K.