The huge economic efforts to weather the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have grown to be the brand new frontline for climate action.
As trillions of dollars pour in to the global economy to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19, resounding calls have been made to governments and financial institutions to ensure long term climate action is a condition for relief.
With carbon-intensive sectors arranging for economic support to safeguard the jobs of huge numbers of people, calls will also be intensifying for workers to profit over corporations.
In an argument, G20 countries said they were injecting more than $5 trillion into the global economy to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic. Herpes has killed a lot more than 24,000 people worldwide.
In the united states, the Senate unanimously passed a gigantic $2-trillion bill aimed at helping workers and industries impacted by the rapid economic slowdown. Including a $500 billion fund to assist hard-hit industries and more than $60 billion for airlines with a few strings attached.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised Democrats’ efforts to “flip the bill over” from the “corporate trickle-down Republican version to bubble-up workers first, families first legislation” with problems that money provided to the airlines for instance “are given towards the workers directly”.
In Canada, academics, labour and environmental organisations have warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration that any bailout to the gas and oil sector should help the workers, not the corporations, which the economical stimulus should be green.
In Europe, you will find clear calls for any economic stimulus package to become consistent with the continent’s pledge being climate-neutral by 2050 and pinned towards the Green Deal framework.
While many agree the pandemic has opened a window to accelerate the transition to a green economy, the issue of timing remains key.
As governments scramble to strengthen health services to save lives and put cash in both your hands of hard-hit families and businesses, some analysts warn the immediate crisis will need to pass before investments could be forwarded to the clean energy transition. How and when this happens could determine climate action for years to come.
Eyes on the horizon
Scientists at Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii are monitoring the climate for signs the economical slowdown linked to the coronavirus pandemic could lessen the increase in atmospheric carbon concentrations.
Alister Doyle spoke to Ralph Keeling, son of Charles Keeling, the founding father of the Keeling Curve, that has been tracking increasing carbon dioxide concentrations within the atmosphere since 1958.
“There has never been an economic shock such as this in the whole good reputation for the curve,” he explained.
This month, the information hints at a small slowdown in the rate of CO2 rise. However the scientists will need additional time to understand whether this possible trend is related towards the pandemic.
‘Baby steps’
Russia has published draft plans to slightly toughen its 2030 climate targets that will still allow its emissions to increase in the next decade.
The UN is demanding countries make deep cuts to their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the scientific findings to offer the Paris Agreement temperature goals.
But the world’s fifth biggest emitter projected its emissions would rise in future years to 67% of its 1990 level by 2030 – a slight improvement on its current 75% target. Russia’s emissions plunged after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and are still about half the amount these were in 1990.
Environmental NGOs have criticised the program as inadequate in a time of climate crisis. “It’s only small steps,” said Vladimir Chuprov, of Greenpeace in Moscow.
Electric drive
Electric cars are a greener alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles in almost every part of the world.
Researchers have found that plug-in cars emit less greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime than other vehicles, even when including the mining of metals for batteries, the manufacturing process and scraping.
This holds true everywhere however in countries where the electricity accustomed to recharge electric vehicles is generated from coal-fired power plants, the research found, noting blackspots in India, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria.
This week’s top stories
- Coronavirus: in Hawaii's air, scientists seek indications of economic shock on CO2 levels
- Russia's plans to tighten 2030 climate goal criticised as 'baby steps'
- Electric cars help limit global warming despite blackspots in India, Poland
- Governments urged to attach green strings to long-term coronavirus recovery plans
And in climate conversations
- Coronavirus pandemic shows we want new methods to take care of our planet and each other
- From summits to stimulus: Nature-based solutions can help
