COVID-19: Good For the Environment?

By: Cassandra Van Drunen

Since the middle of March, the world as a whole has been experiencing the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), and others such as China for much longer. By April 17th, there were over 2.2 million cases, causing more than 150,000 deaths. Although COVID-19 has had devastating effects on the human population, many positive environmental effects have taken place globally. Since many countries have put up strict travel bans, the impact of cars and planes on pollution has been significantly mitigated. With millions of people under lockdown, positive global environmental effects have been seen. From clear water in the canals of Venice, to decreases in pollution in the world's major cities. New York City, one of America's largest cities, and one of COVID-19’s biggest hubs, has experienced a reduction in pollution by almost 50% in comparison to the 2019 statistics. On the other side of the planet, China’s emissions have been reduced by 25% since the beginning of 2020. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment in China has stated that the number of days with “good quality air” has increased by 11.4% in 337 cities throughout China, in comparison with the data at the same time last year. In addition, reports in India’s New Delhi have shown that the average concentration levels of harmful microscopic particulate matter fell by over 71% in the span of a week. In Northern India, the Himalayas are no longer shadowed by air pollution for the first time in almost 30 years. The cartography image below by Steven Bernard from Descartes Labs shows the dramatic drop in nitrogen dioxide pollution in some of the world's major cities. The earth itself is not the only thing thriving during the pandemic. Many wild animals have also benefited from the worldwide lockdowns. With fewer humans roaming the streets, animals have been wandering outside of their normally constructed habitats. Wild boars have been walking the streets of Barcelona and Sika Deer from Japan’s Nara Park have been traveling to nearby cities. One of the animals benefiting the most from this pandemic appears to be Thailand’s sea turtles. Across the country, rare sea turtles have been coming to the now empty beaches at higher rates then seen in the past 20 years. Changes are even being seen in Canada. Marie-Eve Muller, a spokeswoman for a Research page 5

and Education Center on a Marine Mammals Group in Quebec, has stated that the reduction of recreational boating in the St. Lawrence River could be beneficial to the whale population, due to both the pollution and noise factors that would usually bother the species. In addition, both her and James Page, a species at risk and biodiversity specialist with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, have stated that with less human disturbance and traffic, this year’s breeding season for various Canadian animals could allow for some larger population growth, in addition to reduced risk of animal collision with vehicles.

As the title of the article stated, the question many people globally are wondering is whether or not this pandemic has been good for the environment. It seems clear that it has. However, the steps that we take moving forward is what is truly important. As Peter Betts, the UK’s former lead climate negotiator stated, “there may be some positive behavioural impact. But the real question is what happens in the recovery phase. Do we just go back to business as usual?”

One such country appears to already be going back to ‘business as usual.’ In a province known as Hubei in China, businesses are beginning to reopen. In a region where nitrogen dioxide levels fell by 40% while under lockdown, China appears to be starting up the economy again using coal-fired power at an even worse rate than before. According to a report from a Non-Governmental Organization(NGO) Global Energy Monitor, the country has approved more plans for coal powered pollution in the past month than they had for all of 2019. Different specialists have varying opinions as to what life after the pandemic will bring in terms of environmental pollution. With the large hit that has been taken by the global economy, Reed Blakemore, deputy director at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center has stated that the renewable resources sector is likely to be negatively impacted once the stay at home orders have been lifted. He states that “low oil and gas prices will place pressure on the economics of renewable energy sources and, without policy support, some renewables that have seen rapid deployment will have to wait for credit markets to recover, ceding ground to cheap hydrocarbons and fossil fuels.” In addition, climate change itself has taken a back seat in light of the world’s more immediate threat. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commision, has planned for Europe to be carbon neutral by 2050 with her new climate law. However, the passing of this law has been put off due to the pandemic, in addition to other climate change policies and events. This is another example of how environmental rehabilitation has taken one step forward and two steps back. Overall, the pandemic has had some great environmental benefits due to the mitigation of global pollution. However, there have also been and potentially will continue to be some drawbacks. Though social distancing for life is not the solution to solving the world’s climate change issues, much can be learned about what happens when less emissions are being released across the earth. Global business leaders may see that some jobs can be accomplished from home, allowing for a continued decrease in emissions, and necessitating less office space. If anything, this experience with coronavirus can show that healing the planet is more tangible when everyone works together towards a common goal, as has been demonstrated with this pandemic. I think Maggie Comstock of the Conservation International stated it best. She states that “with only a decade left to prevent the most severe impacts of climate change, 2020 still needs to be a year of action.” The world's leaders can use this pandemic as a time to see how precious our earth is. They can see that the globe is healing, even in a small way, and that this is a silver lining in an otherwise dark time. Hopefully, these dreadful times will spark different countries worldwide to pass those climate change bills and plans to rehabilitate the planet. It is up to the leaders of today to reflect, and look for a new way forward. As Rachel Kyte, current Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and the former UN top clean energy official stated, “we are now going to go into deep recession, possible depression, and we have to find a way for the digging out from that to be greener and more equitable.”