Who would have thought that we would be a in a lockdown for several months due to a global pandemic? Yeah, me neither. Through these unprecedented times we have been in lockdown with some of our family/friends and others just living by themselves. Times have been hard, and we have lost loved ones due to this disease. However, the fact that 80% of the people are at home has done a lot to the environment. There are pictures of canals in Italy which are seen to be very clear. Delhi has seen a decline in air pollution and studies show that the air is much cleaner and less pollutant! But what is really going on and should this pandemic be a lesson learnt for the future?
Records do show that this has been the biggest Carbon crash since the 1900’s and no other war, recession or previous global pandemic shows this much of a crash!
Source: Global Carbon Project, CDIAC & IEA
It is fascinating to see that Carbon emissions are heavily declining mainly due to there being a low demand of fossil fuels for flights and other industries. This has given nature to breathe more fluid and able to prosper and grow. On the other hand, there has been a rise in food waste, supply chains do not have the resources to keep up with the demand.
In my previous blog, I spoke about global warming and how CO2 emissions would need to hit net zero for us to have a chance to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees (have a read if you haven’t!). Currently, there are still CO2 emissions which are limiting the stabilisation of global warming to net zero.
Airline capacity hit by Coronavirus. Source: OAG
The reduction in road transport and aviation has seen a major impact in regards to CO2 emissions but the question is once we are out of this lockdown, what is next? It is evident that once lockdown restrictions are uplifted people will be going out more and so they should. The worry that most of us have is that there will be an increase in road transport and person mobility. There has been pledges for an increase in infrastructure for better cycle/pedestrian routes however, I do not think this will work. Let’s face it – who would want to cycle/walk to work in the winter? We need to think what is feasible, but which makes the most sense. We know that working from home can be done for most companies. I believe they should inherit this style of work in the future and implement a mix of office/home working environment. This will help the reduction of road transport and decrease congestion in city areas.
This definitely should be a lesson learnt to everyone that we can make a change in the world. It should show the governments that things can be done differently, and we should be having much more of a green focus whilst we transition into normality.
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