The global pandemic has had dramatic short-term effects on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions around the world. However, the short-term changes may not have much effect on long-term climate change. New Scientist reports on a study published last week in Nature Climate Change, which finds that the economic shutdowns around the world due to Covid-19 may not have a long-term effect on global climate change.
The reason that there may not be a long-term effect is because the lockdowns were for a very short time, and there are already decades of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If countries may go back to their polluting habits after the shutdowns end, then the Covid-19 reduction will just be a blip.
It all depends on what we do to recover from Covid-19, and whether countries choose to have a #GreenRecovery. If we choose to have a clean, just recovery, spending on clean renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, and aid to communities of color that are most impacted by polluting fossil fuel industries, we can make a huge difference in climate change and environmental justice.
Harriet Forster, a researcher from the study, notes that “The important thing to recognize is that we’ve been given a massive opportunity to boost the economy by investing in green industries – and this can make a huge difference to our future climate.”
As she says, we have really been given a gift, the chance to make our economy more fair, just, and healthy with clean renewable transportation and energy. Let’s act on the gift, for our sake and for our children. Let’s keep the clean air from being just a blip.
Read the news article in New Scientist here.
