How COVID-19 can pave a way towards a better future.

What happens when top economies decide to close borders, when billions of people accept to cease unnecessary activities and the whole world joins a slower pace?

Magic, revolution, the most beautiful symphony of thousand hands clapping together, of silent hearts beating a harmonious rhythm for a change that generations have been singing about, of possibilities.

Dear Covid, you have been most unexpected, bewildering, devastating, awakening.

Over 20 countries are under lock-down, more than 3 billion people are staying home, there are barely any petrol-guzzling cars rolling on the streets. in fact, the roads are deserted with hardly a soul in sight.

As melancholic as the circumstances might seem, there is always a bright side to every story. You have heard enough drudgery in the news today so let’s take a step back, roll the ball and try a new perspective.

What does COVID-19 mean in terms of global carbon footprint?

These are indeed exceptional times. For generations, scientists have been pleading to governments, policy makers and humanity in general to reduce our activities, to consume just a bit less, to focus on the essentials. To let nature recover, rejuvenate and replenish.

What a preposterous thought! At least up until today. If COVID teaches us anything it is this: Governments can take quick, drastic actions; humans can make humongous changes in their daily habits and large scale transformation is possible, when faced with imminent threat.

When we focus on the essential, magic happens. Mist of smog lifts up and skies are cleared.

With people staying home and factories shuttering, many of the world’s top cities are starting to witness lower levels of pollution that have been previously impossible to attain. Researchers in New York told the BBC that carbon monoxide emissions have been reduced by nearly 50% compared with the year prior. In China, emissions fell 25% at the start of the year, which according to The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, equals to about 200 million tons of carbon dioxide. 200 hundred frickin’ million! Paraphrased differently, this is equal to taking 43 million cars off the road for 1 whole year!

Don’t believe me? Look at it yourself in these famous satellite images shared by none other than NASA:

These images show that the air above most of China’s major population centers has reduced dramatically since January, when the government’s lock-downs first began. US and China are not the only countries, the same story follows across Spain, Italy, India, South Korea and rest of the geographies practicing strong social distancing policies.

In Barcelona, average NO2 levels went down by 40 % from one week to the next. Compared with the same week in 2019, the reduction was 55 %. Similar reductions can be seen in Italy. Images captured by one of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus satellites showed huge reductions in nitrogen dioxide concentrations over Paris, Madrid and Rome from 14–25 March, compared to the same week in 2019:

End of the Naysayers.

Isn’t that a marvelous picture we have painted (unwillingly) in the world? It’s a big awakening call to every naysayer within us, an affirmation that YES small united actions can make a big difference.

Can you believe that these incredible positive green statistics are thanks to you? By refusing to step out, refusing to drive that car or take that plane, you have changed the face of your city and it’s air!

All this while we were convinced that our small actions do not matter. Convinced that going to work in our shiny cars is not going to save the world. Convinced that it’s someone else’s fault.

Go catch the big factories, we said. How can I change the world, we said. I am doing my best, we said.

COVID-19 has proven that humans can change their habits, collaborate on a large scale and create a positive impact. Each individual action counts and can result in an exponential environmental, humanitarian and social change.

Beginning of a new era.

In this war against humans and microbes, we have shown a strong collective front and are poised to win this war sooner or later. However we must not allow ourselves to forget that COVID-19 might be the most urgent threat facing humanity today, but climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term.

The diagram below, reinterpreted from the publication of energy and climate expert Jean-Marc Jancovici, illustrates this beautifully:

The first graph shows the comparison of the long-term risk of climate change versus the short term risk of coronavirus, highlighting how insignificant the current situation is as compared to the disaster that awaits us in the form of climate calamity. The second graph shows the inconsistency of treatment between COVID-19 and climate emergency. Emphasising the actions we have taken against COVID-19 versus our efforts against climate change.

It’s evident and understandable that in the face of immediate threat individuals and governments react strongly. While a long-term threat is easier to turn a blind eye to, continue to deny or pretend that it’s far in the “future”.

The good news is, the war we are fighting right now might prove to be our biggest weapon against climate change. We know now that we need not wait for things to get out of control. That we must not ignore the warning signs. That we must do better.

The only way to win the war against climate change is by averting it. It’s not worth the disaster, the tragedy. The price we have to pay is small when measured against the consequences. All that we need to do is focus on the essential and try to ignore the noise. (Sorry Donald Trump, we no more believe your lies, nor your denials. We never did.)

So will the next time, our governments put aside piety short-term politics and focus on what’s important in the long-term? Would they realize the importance of early action and take proactive measures?

Most importantly, how will we react once all of this is over? Will we pause the next time our friend invites us for an impromptu trip halfway across the world? Would we trade our cars and motorbikes for cycles? Would we produce local and shop local? Would we choose to voluntarily stay at home for short periods of time? Would we consume less?

When as a society we collectively change our lifestyles, our daily habits, our consumption patterns, we force the markets to respond to these changes.

Good habits→ Lower consumption → Lower Emission → better world ❤

That’s as basic as it gets. So let’s make COVID-19 our secret weapon. Let’s cultivate new habits, learn to do less, force governments to change and transform the world.

The skeptic says that we can’t, that we are doomed to succumb to our old habits. Yet, the believer says, let’s prove them all wrong.