As a result of the unprecedented spread of the Coronavirus, several countries have gone into lockdown with the sole purpose of trying to defeat the global pandemic. The lockdowns aim to prevent the spreading of the virus but have also, indirectly, improved the state of the environment within a relatively short space of time.
Climate change is critical when considering people’s rights under Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Global warming is a direct threat to the survival of the human race.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) made submissions to the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on how climate action should fulfil, protect and promote people’s human rights. Within the submissions, the OHCHR commented on the impact that climate change would have on the rights to health, housing, water and food if states do not act to limit the emission of greenhouse gases immediately.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed in its Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report what is widely known in scientific and societal discourse; that climate change is due to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions and unless action is not taken to substantially limit these emissions, the effects will become irreversible.
CORONAVIRUS-INDUCED LOCKDOWNS HAVE SEEN GLOBAL NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NO2) LEVELS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR
NO2 derives from the burning of fuels from cars, trucks, buses, power plants and off-road equipment. Exposure to these emissions can cause respiratory problems and also contribute substantially to the warming of the Earth.
China was in full lockdown for approximately two months and the emission of NO2 during January - February 2020 drastically dropped compared to January - February 2019.
Figure 1 - NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using modified Copernicus Sentinel 5P data processed by the European Space Agency. Obtained from here.
Italy has been in lockdown for just under a month and the European Space Agency (ESA) has witnessed a dramatic reduction in emissions from transport and industry. The canal water has also becoming a lot clearer.
New York which has had high levels of carbon monoxide over the years has seen a drastic decrease: as people are now only travelling if it is essential, the traffic levels have reduced by approximately 35%. Consequently, carbon monoxide emissions have reduced to as low as 50%.
In the UK, thousands of people are now working from home. All non-essential shops have been instructed to close and similar to New York, citizens are to travel only when it is essential to do so. In less than 2 weeks since the nationwide lockdown, the air pollution within the country has dropped significantly and it has been predicted to drop further in the weeks to come.
While the effects on air pollution and water are positive, there is no doubt that there will be a return back to the usual state of increasing emissions once governments lift the restrictions as people resume their everyday lives.
CAN COVID-19 RESTORE CLIMATE CHANGE?
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said “we will not fight climate change with a virus. Whilst the disease is expected to be temporary, climate change has been a phenomenon for many years, and will remain with us for decades and require constant action”.
In 2015, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reached an agreement, known as the Paris Agreement, to change the threat of climate change by limiting the global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius.
As of December 2019, minimal action has been taken by governments as their current pledges suggest that the world will warm by 2.8 Celsius by the end of the century, thus deviating from the agreement.
The reaction to the current health crisis and the effects it has had on air and water pollution signals a clear indication that we still have time to change the tide of negative effects of global warming and save the planet and ourselves. It also shows that when governments implements drastic measures, although for a different agenda, that change is possible and such measures simply need to be strictly implemented and adhered to.
After having completed the Bar Professional Training Course (2018), Safia currently working as a Costs Advisor in a law firm. Her life goal is to make a positive change in the society we live in, no matter how small that change might be.