Why Aren’t We Taking Climate Change As Seriously As Covid-19?
I’ve been debating on whether to write this blog post, mainly because I don’t want to seem insensitive to those currently diagnosed with Coronavirus and those who have unfortunately lost their lives, but I also feel I can’t stay silent on what I feel is a huge issue being ignored and swept under the rug.
It frustrates me that, in our glass houses, we only open our eyes to immediate threats. Climate change has been building for many years, and we are ever closer to not reaching our goal of staying under 1.5 degrees of warming, though governments turn away. Companies continue with business as normal. Banks fund fossil fuels. Industries exploit those from poor, underdeveloped areas who are suffering the most, but contributing the least to climate change.
Today, websites state that around 93,000 - 100,000 people have been diagnosed with Coronavirus, with 3,100 - 3,500 deaths (information found from Science Alert & CNBC). That’s a huge number of people, but let’s consider on the flip side how many people are dying due to the climate crisis. There’s several articles on this, though this article is from 2009:
“Researchers believe that global warming is already responsible for some 150,000 deaths each year around the world, and fear that the number may well double by 2030 even if we start getting serious about emissions reductions today.” - Scientific American, ‘The Impact of Global Warming on Human Fatality Rates.’
150,000 deaths per year. That’s a huge increase from the 3,500 deaths estimated due to Covid-19 currently (though we have a quote coming in a few paragraphs time that puts the number of casualties per year from global warming much higher.) So why aren’t we taking climate change seriously? I think when look towards the companies in power and to our governments, we see our answer. Even now, airlines and travel companies are dropping prices due to Covid-19, and are capitalising on this situation, encouraging people to travel in such a high risk situation. Businesses don’t care about epidemics, they just look for a new way to profit from it. Look at the branding of fossil fuel companies like Shell and Exxon Mobile, who use their social media accounts to shout about how sustainable they are, while still digging for fossil fuels (don’t forget about that list of the main 100 companies responsible for 71% of the worlds carbon emissions. Shell and Exxon are on there. So... someone is lying somewhere.)
Cities are over polluted, respiratory issues are on the up, we’re having extreme heat in the summers, there has been mass flooding in the UK and India while California, the Amazon Rainforest and Australia have seen deathly fires. Climate change also contributes to and helps the spread of illness - possibly helping Covid-19 as it continues to reach communities world wide. People are up in arms, buying face masks, anti bacterial gel, and toilet roll in mass. Everyone is sharing 20 second songs that are good to sing while washing your hands, but would any of these things help you if you came into contact with someone with the virus? Maybe, maybe not. But the fear is there, I’ve heard from many friends who are worried. My family are waiting for the situation to blow over until they next come to visit me in France. Again, why is Covid-19 seen as more serious than climate change?
I feel the media have a huge part in this. Covid-19 is all over the news. What it is. Where it came from. What you can do to protect yourself from it. How many deaths have there been today? What about today? And today? It’s constant. There have already been documentary style programmes covering it. People are obsessed. Here in Paris, so many shops have completely sold out of masks, anti-bacterial gel and ingredients to make your own home-made anti-bac. In the UK, people are stealing hand sanitizers from hospitals. But the reality is, if we don’t act, climate change will kill more globally, and cause more deadly epidemics.
“With a global death toll of over 3,000, COVID-19 still appears far less deadly than fossil fuels, which, according to a recent study that Myllyvirta co-authored for Greenpeace, are responsible for 4.5 million air pollution-related deaths each year, aside from climate impacts. But scientists warn that warmer, wetter conditions are increasing the probability of such outbreaks. No one knows how deadly the next one might be.” - DW, ‘Coronavirus and Climate Change.’
4.5 million deaths each year. That’s the higher number I was talking about earlier. Another big leap from the 3,500 estimated dead due to Covid-19. So again. Why aren’t we taking this seriously?
We need to move to a regenerative culture. We need to move to a circular economy. We need a global health system that helps and supports everyone. We need to move away from capitalism, which exploits peoples and habitats worldwide, and come together globally to rally for green energy (that’s water, wind and sun by the way, not nuclear enegy.) We need to cut down on air pollution, which has fallen since Covid-19. PLEASE NOTE I’m not saying Coronavirus is good, far from it. No one needs to die for the Earth to ‘restore’ itself. Consider this, China has been aiming to hit their carbon emissions target in 2030, which means they’re planning on increasing the emissions they put out until then, not cutting it. Coronavirus has put a bit of a dent in that, which you can see from this image taken by NASA:
That shows a huge decrease in Nitrious Oxide emissions into the air which comes from, yes you guessed it! Fossil fuel emissions. Despite airlines dropping their prices, Coronavirus has been making people think twice about traveling. It’s been stopping ‘business as normal’ in the areas most affected, which in turn has given us greener, cleaner air. All these things that people won’t do for the climate crisis, they’re doing for Covid-19. Again, note, it’s important that I stress that I do not think it is good that Coronavirus has caused this. I do not believe in eco-fascism. I just hope, going forward, people consider the lives lost to climate change, and take as seriously.
Because imagine - if we took climate change more seriously... If we implemented changes that would continue to keep us on track of staying under 1.5 degrees on warming, that would lower air pollution. Maybe we could create something like a, I don’t know, green new deal? Maybe that’s too crazy, because the western world isn’t being affected badly enough yet. I do hope, that Covid-19 opens up people’s eyes to the underlying threat of climate change, which should be considered a serious epidemic. That we should be taking seriously. Seriously enough that we are making lifestyle changes AND rallying our governments to implement stronger policies.
I’m still anxious about posting this, purely because I hope I haven’t said the wrong thing. I sometimes worry that I do not have enough knowledge to be speaking on this, but I really enjoy writing my blog, raising my voice and taking action in this way. Please, if you do have information that I do not have, reach out and share it with me. Also, check out all the articles I’ve linked throughout this blog, because they are incredible and a great source of information.
