At first glance, it seems as though the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine has done a great deal to help the environment. Just days after Venice shut down, fish and swans returned to the canals. Less plane travel has resulted in a massive drop in air pollution. Carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions are down. Citizens of Mumbai can see the Himalayas for the first time in decades. It seems as though just a few months of a global shutdown has begun reversing humanity’s effects on the planet.
However, the pandemic has not been totally beneficial for the environmental movement. The UN’s annual climate summit has been postponed until next year, disrupting the new emission reduction plans that were expected to be proposed by 196 countries. Other climate events have also been postponed, such as the nation-wide strikes originally planned for Earth Day in April.
Inevitably, the world will begin returning to normalcy. When it does, containing the economic effects of the pandemic will be on the forefront of governments’ minds. Environmental measures may be pushed to the side.
Numerous environmental regulations have already been rolled back during this pandemic, such as the EPA’s car emission rules and the monitoring and reporting requirements for oil companies.
Some still see hope that the rebuilding that will take place after the pandemic will also include environmental measures. Economic stimulus packages could include a shift to cleaner energy alternatives like wind and solar.
Even if this pandemic has negative effects on how governments help the environment, perhaps quarantine can show regular people how they can help the environment in ways that seemed too difficult before Covid cropped up. For example, perhaps the complete lack of travel done by those in quarantine could translate to a reduction in unnecessary travel when travel bans are lifted.
