Impact of the Corona Crisis on Climate Crisis
Learnings from this pandemic to deal with the climate crisis in the future
A Paradigm Shift
Life as we know it has changed drastically in these past few weeks. Our routines, the way we work, the way we socialise, the way businesses run and at large, society, economy and humanity, are going through a paradigm shift.
A quarter of the population is under a strict lockdown and has been working from home since weeks. Businesses and universities have found ways to transition online in only a matter of days,. Businesses are sharing resources and infrastructure to ensure that urgent needs are met. For example, Scania is sharing its human resources with Karolinska University hospital to help them acquire protective equipments for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19. Businesses are also rapidly accelerating their long-term strategies or pivoting to accommodate the most-pressing needs and consumer demands like grocery delivery.
Amidst all these changes, what we also notice is the fact that unknowingly through these strict and urgent measures, we have also moved a small step closer to our goals of transitioning to a low carbon economy. While we have all seen photos like the one above of natural landscapes or monuments becoming visible from a longer distance due to a clear sky, it is a fact that pandemic induced slowdown in China has reduced their carbon emissions in a way that was unprecedented. But it is also predicted that the industrial production and carbon emissions are likely going to rise again eventually with no guarantees of the emissions staying low. The positive impact that we are witnessing right now in the form of cleaner air and low emissions are considered to be short-term and maybe even detrimental to our long-term goal of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. As energy economist Nicholas Stern describes,
“Carbon dioxide emissions have already gone down in China, but that is not the way we want to do it.”
Building a New Normal
What we also need to realise in this moment is that as we find ways to deal with the pandemic, we are also going to be building a new normal. The way we choose to act on it through individual actions and economic policies, is going to fundamentally change society in various ways and also define our response to the climate crisis. So then the question arises of how do we build a future that is aligned with our climate and environment goals? Many fear that this pandemic is going to result in reprioritisation of our efforts towards our climate goals through short-sighted stimulus plans to revive boost the economy, and there’s good reason for the concern. With critical meetings like COP26 climate summit facing the possibility of delay/cancellation, delays in climate research and clean energy analyst BloombergNEF already downgrading solar, water and electric-vehicle market for 2020, we should also be concerned about stimulus plans that are too focussed on short-term economic recovery and neglect the fact that it might lead to higher emissions in the longer run. But we are optimistic that as the world comes together to think of creating new jobs, building plans to revive and support industries, we can find ways of addressing the climate crisis in the long-term through these efforts and with a stronger sense of urgency that this pandemic has instigated. After all, this health crisis is closely linked to the climate crisis that we will continue to face as humanity.
Corona and the Climate Crisis
There are many overlaps in terms of our learnings from dealing with the pandemic and finding ways to deal with the climate crisis over the long-term. There is a similar anxiety of dealing with uncertainty at an individual level and also making huge shifts in the ways business and society operate.
For one, we notice a similar massive social inequity that leads to greater impact of such pandemics as well as climate crisis on a vulnerable population- that is migrants, elderly, sick, or the poor. It is a sudden and sad realisation of the implication (even though it’s been a harsh reality) of the huge disparity in access of healthy food, health services, fair wages, sick leaves etc. which leaves this population more vulnerable to the impact of such pandemics as well as the climate crisis. Although this pandemic has created an urgency for companies and government to fulfil these basic needs for the vulnerable population, it is critical to think about how to sustain these efforts in the longer term to minimise repercussions of inequality in the long-term and specifically in the context of the climate crisis. The most critical question for us should be, how can the system we create post pandemic work to bridge this inequality to be more resilient in the future? When talking about societal change, Eric Klinenberg, the author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, speculates in this article by Politico, if it would result in less individualism in a way that we realise that our fates and actions are linked. Could this realisation result in changes in consumer behaviour and increased awareness at an individual level in the way that he describes below?
“(Will) The cheap burger I eat from a restaurant that denies paid sick leave to its cashiers and kitchen staff makes me more vulnerable to illness…”
Another parallel to climate goals is that while there was an active conversation around how can businesses work more efficiently in a way that is aligned with our climate goals like flight shaming, sustainable supply chains and re-evaluating company policies on remote working for climate change, not many could have predicted that we were actually capable of shutting down airports and flights completely or limiting travel to the extent that we have during this pandemic. Even though this is not ideal and it may not be realistic for companies to operate completely locally, remotely or stop traveling for work, hopefully it’s going to help companies re-evaluate and re-imagine how they work and operate to think of responsible and resource-efficient ways. This pandemic is also forcing companies to think of localising supply chains. Linda Yueh, the Chair of the LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission says in an article by Wired,
“This crisis will likely accelerate that process — along with additive manufacturing and other technological developments — towards greater localisation.”
While such shifts in business operations are happening largely due to the pandemic, it is important to have the foresight to predict its impact on the climate crisis to determine how should the business operate in the long-term to pivot in a way that is sustainable and responsible in the future.
The third and the greatest learning during this time has been the very visible correlation between the society, environment and economics. When we speak of climate change and systems thinking, it still felt like a theory for many and less like a reality that humanity is going to have to face. With this pandemic, it has suddenly become very real how individual action can result in societal impact and how healthcare, social equity and economics all tie together as one system. Now we are suddenly met with the reality of how a person’s actions in some other part of the world is affecting our health, how a person’s choice to travel might trigger a series a reaction that can have a huge impact on the global economy. The fact that we are all a part of a system that is closely connected is suddenly very apparent. We need to hold on to this realisation as we build a future to deal with the climate crisis. The climate crisis is also dependant on individual actions and community actions very similar in nature to this pandemic, the only difference is that it still feels distant to our realities even though it is not. This pandemic has set in motion various parts of the system to work in a coordinated manner towards a common goal and that is the kind of commitment and urgency we need to be able to achieve our climate goals as well. This pandemic is an example of how systems thinking can play a huge role in how we deal with climate change solutions in the long-term.
In the end, the learning for us as individuals and leaders should be to view this situation as a crucible for leadership. A crucible is, by definition, a transformative experience through which an individual comes to a new or an altered sense of identity. Let this time prepare you to find ways to turn such experiences into opportunities for you to be a better leader in your family/friend circle, in your community and in your organisation to drive change. By becoming a leader that applies creativity in times of adversity and displays perseverance and empathy, we can apply our learnings to build capacity for change that is necessary for our future. Even though climate goals seem daunting to be achieved through individual or independent actions, this pandemic is a reminder that individual actions do impact the well-being of humanity globally.
These stimulus plans and recovery strategies that we design today are going to have a huge impact on our future for years to come. We were not prepared for this pandemic but we have received multiple harsh reminders of the climate crisis through heat waves, wildfires and floods. As we create budgets and plans to deal with this pandemic as an economy or as a business, we need to use this as an opportunity to make these plans relevant for our future and our goal of transitioning to a decarbonised economy. Let’s think of ways to not just go back our normal, but a build a new normal that is better, more responsible and sustainable.
