(Production: Pablo Cantudo)
The confinement to which much of humanity has been forced by the pandemic has also had an impact on the environment. We have all received images of deserted cities without pollution berets and of animals occupying spaces that were previously only reserved for humans. A few days ago, in addition, a study with preliminary data was published in the journal Nature Climate Change that revealed that, between January and April 2020, the average global emissions of carbon dioxide decreased by 8.6% compared to the same period. from the previous year.
At Planeta Muy we wanted to delve into these issues, because we wonder if this specific decrease in emissions or air pollution is really significant and will allow us, for example, to save time in managing the climate crisis. For this we have spoken with Andreu Escrivá, a graduate in Environmental Sciences, a doctor in Biodiversity and a specialist in climate change, a subject on which he has written two books (the second of which is pending publication).
“It is true that we are noticing improvements in some environmental quality indices, both in urban areas and in more naturalized territories,” the expert explains. “Now, that is very different from saying that this stop, so painful for many people, is positive for the environment, among other things because long-term trends, for example in the case of climate change, have hardly been seen modified. It is very important to differentiate between what is the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and what is the emission: we can emit a little less but the concentration will continue to rise, because we have not stopped emitting ”.
A possible rebound effect
One of the biggest concerns regarding climate change mitigation is the possibility of a rebound effect at the end of the crisis that causes global emissions to increase even more. “ No one can be blamed for wanting to reactivate the economy in any way. Another thing is that we also have a cold enough head to stop for a moment to think about how we want to do it ”, reflects Andreu. “This crisis has no positive effects, I wish it hadn’t happened, but we can take advantage of it. What we must do is, now that we are thinking about how certain sectors are going to be reactivated, try to do it in a different way ”.
“I think it is important to make a difference: the environmental movement and climate science have insistently pointed out these days that normality was the problem. That’s right: the pace we were in before the pandemic is what was generating many of the negative processes related to global warming. I think that if this pandemic has taught us something and the climate crisis was also teaching us, it is that environmental protection is also the protection of health and people ”.
A structural problem
We have been confined, it seems that everything has come to a standstill, and yet emissions have decreased very discreetly. “This shows that we have structural emissions that we have to change. The generation of energy, for example, is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, as is the agri-food system: the management of the soil that humans do throughout the planet is the second cause of global warming, and we have continued to eat and cultivate ”.
“There is an important part that we can do but we also have to change structures, it is not enough to act on our individual plot of day to day”, reflects the expert, who believes that, despite all the discouraging messages we receive, we can and do we are in time to change course . “This climate crisis is not an excuse to terrorize ourselves and do nothing,” he insists.
Redefine wellness
To combat the climate crisis, you don’t have to confine yourself or make big resignations. Perhaps the time has come to rethink our priorities, and the painful situation we are experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic has also prompted us to redefine what we consider well-being. “Right now, most of us are expressing wishes that are very low in carbon but very high in humanity : we are looking forward to touching each other, sharing a few beers, going for a walk, having a fun dinner, playing sports together… these are very low-polluting activities. We should be able to build a future other than the one we were heading for despite good intentions. “
“We are in a very complicated scenario on a social level, it seems impossible to see the ways out of this with optimism, but things can be done,” he explains. ” The important thing is to break that fear of ‘the blank page’ and unblock ourselves .” There is no recipe book, says Andreu, but we all know steps that can be taken both individually and collectively to reduce our environmental footprint.
Fight for our time
“There is one very important thing: we have to start fighting for our time. For example, other working conditions would be desirable that will allow us to reduce our carbon footprint: 4-day work week, more telework, more conciliation, different uses of our time, more time to do nothing … that implies a lot of footprint reduction carbon. An onion wrapped in plastic only makes sense if someone thinks they don’t have time to weigh it and buy it loose. In the end it is all a matter of time ”.
