A pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Does Covid-19 have anything to do with climate change? Commenting on whether climate change played a role in the emergence of the virus, the director of the climate, health and global environment center at Harvard University states that there is "no evidence that climate change has triggered the rapid spread of the corona virus." But he adds that climate change is changing our relationship with other species on Earth, and this poses a risk of infection.
We can think like this; Various species living on land and in the sea are heading towards the poles due to the increase in temperature. This means that he comes into contact with many species that should not see each other, should not interact, and should not come into contact with each other. Like viruses, it offers a good opportunity for pathogens to settle into new species.
In addition, deforestation is the biggest cause of habitat loss in the world, and habitat loss offers the opportunity for animals to migrate, come into contact with new species and thus meet new pathogens.
Let's think about China's sky that has become invisible. Since the most affected countries such as China and Italy are sleeping at home, it is thought that those famous shutdown periods, Another relationship between the virus and climate change, is due to the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, albeit temporarily. Due to the corona virus, industrial working hours have decreased, shops have been closed, living spaces have changed, so there has been a decrease in global emissions. In fact, according to a prominent man, if this trend of reduction in carbon emissions continues, we may witness the first decline in global emissions since the 2008 financial crisis. This important man is Jonathan Watts, Global Environment Editor for the Guardian .
Many experts say that the corona virus will have a negative impact on the climate crisis. For example , Stanford University Professor Rob Jackson'according to; Although the corona virus has caused a temporary decrease in carbon emissions at the moments when life stops, states that will need economic recovery after the epidemic will compromise their global investments in clean energy and their climate-friendly policies, and this will pose a serious threat to the fight against climate change in the long run. Moreover, even if this reduction in carbon emissions continues after the epidemic, it seems unlikely that we will meet the Paris Agreement targets unless we fight fast and together. According to the report prepared by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, our global carbon emissions must decrease by 7.6% every year. But even in this extraordinary situation, where many businesses are closed and people are not leaving their homes as much as possible, emissions have been reduced by only 5.5%. This once again reveals how late we are in achieving the Paris Agreement goals and that we need to act as soon as possible.
Could this climate crisis engender social cooperation?
It's a very complicated issue, in fact, some experts think that the corona virus may also have some positive consequences related to climate change. For example , according to environmental activist Bill McKibben , after the epidemic, states can learn a lesson from the World we live in and some of the risks it brings, and they can make more radical, longer-term plans in the fight against the climate crisis. Likewise , according to Michael Lazarus, the USA Director of Stockholm Environment Institute, a A sense of social cooperation that emerges in response to the threat may be a signal for the public to come together for the climate crisis.
We saw that in the time of covid-19, the whole world had to go to hospitals. When Covid-19 emerged, everyone was in a state of panic. Napicaz, what path will we follow? Is this virus deadly? Will it kill a lot of people? Will this have lasting effects? How can we get rid of this virus? All states began to think about it. The states with the health system, the number of hospitals, and the number of beds in the hospitals were able to get rid of this situation quickly, but there was an effort that everyone was dealing with collaboratively. Finding a vaccine for Covid-19. All states have tried to produce a vaccine. They tried to create and produce their own vaccines for this covid-19. Countries or companies that produce the vaccine have imposed a vaccine obligation. Because everyone thinks for themselves. What was the reason was to prevent covid-19 from being deadly. In order to solve the Covid-19 root, these vaccine studies are still continuing. We can call this social cooperation. A living example for us. All countries of the world should cooperate and find a solution to the climate crisis, considering that they are least affected by climate change, the food security caused by climate change, the health problems it creates in people, and the problems it creates in the economy. In fact, the Paris Agreement was signed for this. Certain targets have been set until 2030. I hope we can achieve these goals.
Another benefit of Covid 19 is working from home. Working from home, we reduce our carbon footprint. Most of the time we don't drive. Thanks to online meetings, we do not have to travel on business by plane. UK courts have announced that they will do it online. It seems that some of the habits we have gained due to covid 19 will contribute to climate change to some extent. NASA published a photo of the sky before and after the pandemic of China. He paid attention to the air quality here. Indeed, the Chinese saw a clear sky after the pandemic. Working from home will also reduce carbon emissions in this sense.
One of the negative effects of the epidemic on the environment is the medical waste. It is stated that in Wuhan, which is located in China and is considered the city where Covid-19 was first seen, 240 tons of medical waste was produced in hospitals during the peak of the epidemic, and this amount was 40 tons under normal conditions. It has been announced that the vast majority of 7.4 million people living in Hong Kong wear disposable face masks every day for weeks, and the same is true for many places in the world. Tracey Read, the founder of the non-profit organization "Plastic Free Seas" in Hong Kong, said that the masks are made of polypropylene, a type of plastic, and it will take a very long time to dissolve in nature. If you solve one of them, one cannot be solved. All this shows that
I think the epidemic was a test for a possible "climate migration" crisis.
But unfortunately the world did not pass this test. We know that as a result of climate change, we will encounter many mass migrations in the future. The Covid-19 outbreak was a test that showed whether the world was ready for it. After it was announced that the cases were concentrated in the north in Italy, people flocking to the train stations and emigrating to the south, while the 21-day home ban was declared in India, the government did not make any predictions about what would happen to migrant workers in other cities, and the workers lost their lives while trying to return to their hometown on foot. In fact, it showed that states are not ready for a possible climate migration and that they should plan for it.