The Detrimental Impacts of Coronavirus on the Environment and Sustainability
During the COVID-19 crisis, many environments have faced negative impacts worldwide. Climate experts spotlighted 2020 as a critical year to take decisive action to limit the worst impacts of global warming. The year started with international attention on catastrophic wildfires and floods. The pandemic has overshadowed those issues: The sharp reductions documented in carbon emissions and air pollution caused by coronavirus-related lockdowns have offered a sort of preview of the kind of improvements that can be made when drastic action is taken, but the changes can be easily wiped out by efforts to quickly ramp up economies, including governments around the world that are willing to relax environmental regulations to jump-start their nation’s economies.
Wastes of all different kinds have dramatically increased. Volumes of unrecyclable waste have risen and severe cuts in agricultural and fishery export levels have also played a part in this increase. Because of the health crisis, maintenance and monitoring of natural ecosystems have been temporarily halted as well. Additionally, many of the waste problems occur on a local level as many cities have suspended their recycling activities over fears of COVID-19 spread in recycling centers. The plastics industry, recently backpedaling due to ocean pollution fears, has now flourished due to health concerns. In stores worldwide, retailers have resumed using one-time-use plastic bags at checkout citing health concerns that the virus may stay on the bags when reused, allowing for another method to spread the virus. In addition, due to lockdown restrictions, many consumers have increased their consumption of take-away food delivered in single-use packaging, another way waste is propagating during this crisis.
All of these methods have created many hurdles for the waste management industry as they frantically try to control this overwhelming waste demand with a limited amount of operations due to health concerns. In the United States, a surge in solid medical waste puts 467,000 waste collection workers at risk, while in China, medical waste has quadrupled to 200 tons per day - which is why humans operations have been limited. As a result of various import restrictions in export markets and sharp declines in cargo transportation services, the COVID crisis has caused an increase in volumes of un-shippable agricultural and fishery commodities. Since the producers have produced a surplus of produce that cannot all be sold at markets, many of the produce has gone to waste, contributing to the increase of organic waste levels. Because the waste is left to decay, there is an expected increase in levels of methane (CH4) emissions, a greenhouse gas, from decaying produce not only during this crisis but also following post-crisis months.
Natural ecosystems and protected species are also at risk during this crisis due to less monitoring by officials and prioritization of the health of the people. Due to the high risk of transmission, in many countries, environmental protection workers at national parks, land, and marine conservation zones are required to stay at home in lockdown. Due to decreased monitoring, there has been a rise in illegal deforestation by people, fishing, and wildlife hunting, which all dramatically lead to decreased ecosystems and communities. The stoppage of ecotourism has also allowed natural ecosystems of illegal harvesting and encroachment. Since many employees working in ecotourism have been laid off in many of the prime destinations of the world, the rising unemployment caused by the crisis will force many households to harvest resources from fragile ecosystems unsustainably as they seek means to provide for their family with food and income. Although some of the environmental challenges presented here will resolve on their own once the crisis ends and levels of economic activity resume, it is also true that the benefits of air pollution reductions during this temporary time period will also go back to normal and increase.
On a global level, with governments so focused on the crisis, there are also fears that the diplomatic push to refocus global efforts on reducing emissions is not one of the pressing issues anymore. The United Nations' COP 26 climate conference, scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, has been postponed until 2021. This postponing will push back important diplomatic talks about environment and sustainability and will allow nations worldwide to continue to emit greenhouse gases and harmful gases into the atmosphere which increases global warming of our Earth. It had been hailed as the most important climate gathering since the Paris climate accord was signed in 2015. Under that agreement, countries are due to pledge to limit warming to the agreed-upon level of "well below 2 degrees" Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and ideally below 1.5 degrees. It's "abundantly clear that the countries of the world are falling short of the goals of the Paris agreement," said Dr. Simon Evans, deputy editor of Carbon Brief, a climate science website.
Since we are in an unprecedented point in history, we will also learn first hand on a near-clean slate more about the environmental benefits and risks of sharp drops in global economic activity and this research will definitely help us to better understand the mechanics of environmental sustainability, societal consumption patterns, and how we can reduce waste in a future crisis-free world. Still, only long-term systemic changes in the global economy will change the trajectory of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This is only possible with timely collaboration with world leaders and the unity of all citizens to try to work to minimize their carbon and waste footprints starting now, which will lead to more sustainable future.
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