A lot of parallels can be drawn from the current pandemic situation to that of climate change. The virus has singlehandedly disrupted “normal” human life like no other event has. For months, air traffic came to a complete halt and cars on the road few. Employees were forced to work from home and business conferences looked to online video calls while avoiding air travel. With climbing unemployment rates and crashes in business and tourism, the world has never witnessed a downfall of this magnitude. As disastrous as it is, there’s a lot to be learnt from the current pandemic. The situation begets a response that can potentially be extrapolated onto our global fight against climate change.

Climate Change is the big brother

No doubt, COVID-19 is a global catastrophe. The virus which emerged from Wuhan in China has killed and continues to kill several hundred thousand people. The true impact on the global economy is yet to be properly estimated. Current rates show that the total number of deaths could match that of World War 2. During a time like this we might feel the need to put off the fight against a future doom, but I don’t think that’s an option we have the luxury of taking. Climate change is real, it’s big and its coming whether or not we are in the mood to deal with it.

Just as is with COVID-19, mortality rates will rise due to global temperature rise. Deaths due to climate change could be as high as 5 times that of COVID-19. The economic cost projections don’t paint a prettier picture either. The cost of climate change will be much higher. The longer we wait to shift to cleaner practices, the more expensive the shift will turn out to be.

With rising temperatures and consequently sea levels, previously serene areas will turn uninhabitable. Islands will sink and deserts will prove impossible to survive in. Climate change can thus weaken the capacity of our planet to hold 7 billion people. This translates to loss of homes, livelihood, and food sources.

Bill Gates, who has been a forerunner in leading our fight against global warming, has opined, “If you want to understand the kind of damage that climate change will inflict, look at COVID-19 and spread the pain out over a much longer period of time.”

Carbon Crash

No single event has had such a drastic impact on carbon emissions as the pandemic has. With lockdowns, limited transportation and reduced business activities, pollution rates have also plummeted. Several reports show that we will see a reduction of around 8% in carbon emissions.  The last time the earth saw a big dip in emission levels was during the oil crisis of the 70’s. Although dips have come alongside several major events, none so far has been this extreme.  

Road traffic reduced by approximately 50% and this along with reduced number of flights has been the major driver for emissions lessening.

According to the IEA report, ‘Global Energy Review 2020’ if reduced activity continues, annual energy demand will drop by as much as 6% in 2020, wiping off the last five years of demand growth. The energy industry that comes out of the pandemic will be significantly weaker financially. Only the players less susceptible to market indicators such as renewables focused corporations will emerge better off.

It is interesting to note that, if CO2 emissions continue to drop at the same rate it has in 2020, we will be well set to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2050. Of course, it is not a viable option in that the reduction has come at a mighty great cost.

Government response

Across the globe, administrative bodies have taken a variety of steps to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic. Closures of schools, theatres, and public gathering arenas along with other measures like limiting public transportation, restricting movement, and imposing lockdowns all form part of sudden actions taken by the authorities to curtail the impacts. In addition, governments have been able to churn up 9 trillion dollars in fiscal support to aid in economic revival. If such immediate large-scale administrative action can be taken at will for a pandemic, the same can potentially be done to fight a bigger evil. Until last year, military spending was on a steady climb with global military spending amounting to almost 4 times the spending for climate related finance. These figures will certainly see some change.

Pandemic paving the way for massive changes in business operations

The great shake-up has affected major business operations as well. Companies have begun taking steps to modify their operations to fit a greener style. Virtual meetings and increased automation will eliminate inefficiencies at multiple stages. Industries are re-imagining themselves to fit well into a post-corona world.

Brazilian cosmetics multinational, Natura has pledged to reduce its emissions to net zero and fully adopt sustainable packaging for its products. The company, which owns The Body Shop is one among many looking for ways to come out of the pandemic to mould a different world.

Hindustan Unilever announced in June that it would be going net zero by 2039. In addition, the FMCG giant has also pledged to do more than just reduce emissions by taking up projects to regulate sustainable practices among suppliers, set a deforestation free supply chain by 2023, and scale water resilience programmes. It also pledged to invest €1 billion in ‘Climate & Nature Fund’ aimed at taking decisive action against climate change.

Lessons

The key takeaway is that the pandemic has showed us how it’s possible to lead a different society. It has shown vividly the consequences of inaction. Countries which were quick in taking strict action are the ones relatively better off as compared to the nations which dealt the coronavirus apathy card. Right now, efforts are underway globally to produce an effective vaccine that can inoculate billions. The world has come together in its struggle against the pandemic. This does shed some positive light on our fight to preserve the environment. Actions show that we are capable of change. Over the past months, we have witnessed massive changes in lifestyle choices, spending and general priorities. Even from an economic perspective, just as we have raised funds to fight the virus, it’s possible to invest in efforts to fight climate change. It has become clear that we can take measures however drastic in the face of danger. The first step in the right direction would be to identify that climate change is the bigger evil we need to fight together.