Climate and Covid-19

In these unprecedented times we are living in, the whole world is focussing and talking about COVID-19 and how and in which way we can stop this virus, or how we will return from this global pandemic into a safe and healthy environment.

Another "Pandemic" thats already around for much longer is unfortunately being ignored, pushed back or just forgotten about, although it is threatening our existence and our planet much more. I'm talking about - climate change -

Over the last decades the immense increasing demand for energy, the use of plastics, increasing emissions of greenhouse gasses and a soil degradation through unilaterally agriculture have caused a climate change that is threatening our planet in a way many of us don't realise or don't want to realise.

Sooner or later we will find a cure or a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, but there is no quick or easy cure fore the ongoing climate change. Globally there is so much money being invested in a search for a vaccine against COVID -19 and understandably this is because the COVID-19 is a more critical and acute threat in this moment in time, but why can we not invest just as much research, assertiveness, money and passion in more global sustainability projects to reduce the ongoing climate change. If our planet slowly but surely gets infected more and more with this climate change virus, what will our future and the future of our kids really look like in 20, 50 or 100 years?

The COVID pandemic has already shown us some short term positive impacts on climate change during the last couple of months. Multiple sources have indicated that we are living through an unrivalled drop in carbon output. But even though we will, more then likely, see a massive drop this year, the concentrations of CO2 that is in the atmosphere and is warming our planet, won't stabilise until the world reaches the CO2 neutral goal.

Global temperatures are estimated to rise by 3-4C by the end of this century if CO2 levels aren't savagely reduced. Due to an estimated globally 6% fall on energy demand for 2020 caused by global lockdowns over the last few months, this could result in a large fall of CO2 emissions this year. Here we have the chance to analyse in depth how these positives effects during COVID-19 can support towards a much better and sustainable approach for our environment in the near future.

This fall in use of energy, and the drastic fall in traveling by plane and car demonstrates us that we can still have a major impact in reducing, or possibly putting a hold on, climate change. Because of reduced transportation options for many daily used products such as for example food, we have been directed to much more local, seasonal products. Also the additional free time created for many people around the globe, because of the lockdowns and work from home, have provided us with many interests and new hobbies, such as cooking and baking, which automatically have reduced our demand for convenience and especially packaged foods. The positive side effect in this case was as well, that single used packaging also showed an impactful reduction, although we will probably see an increase again due to safe food measures being a crucial part of the COVID-19 impact strategy.

Right now though, we have the opportunity to take al these learnings into consideration and implement them in our post COVID-19 era, especially as lockdowns start to loosen slowly but surely around the globe and we are returning to a new normal.

We can recover from the existential, complex COVID-19 threat, by taking all learnings from this thread and return back and emerge climate change much stronger and more resilient. The faster and more globally united we start, the faster we can get the "Climate Change" Virus under control, as we are doing now with the COVID-19 Virus.

We have the chance, the opportunities and the means to create this "New Normal", to cure the planet and all its population. Lets start today..