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Science | Geography | PSHE

Climate emergency is deeper crisis than virus

Is the coronavirus making us forget the deeper climate emergency? There has never been a better opportunity to change things for the good of the planet – but many fear we will waste it. The coronavirus pandemic has killed 225,000 people worldwide in the last four months. Deaths continue to rise. It is a global tragedy. By 2050, however, 250,000 people could be dying per year as a direct result of climate change. And that's a conservative estimate. It is hard to dwell on such a dreadful number because it points to a terrible truth: if the coronavirus is the biggest global challenge since World War Two, the climate emergency is the biggest global challenge in the history of humanity. But not everyone wants to see it that way. In countries around the world, governments have announced less scrutinyCarefully examining or looking into something to get information about it.  for companies breaking environmental laws - either in the fight against Covid-19, or in racing to bring about economic recovery after lockdown. The Czech Republic's prime minister, Andrej Babis, has said that the EU should "forget about then Green Deal" for now. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, disagrees. Last week, to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, he stressed that the climate crisis is an "even deeper emergency" than the pandemic. Many would argue that they are not even separate problems. Coronavirus is just one symptom of this "deeper emergency". Deforestation and industrial meat production - both drivers of the climate crisis - are factors that make it possible for viruses to leap from animals to humans. For Guterres, global recovery must be linked to steps to address the climate crisis and environmental damage. We need new jobs in green industries - not polluting ones, he says. We need a transition to a sustainable future. A time of crisis is also a time of change. It "rips open the fabric of normality", as writer Peter C Baker puts it. The claim that it is impossible to change society quickly enough to tackle the climate emergency can never be made again. We have changed society overnight in response to this pandemic. Academics and scientists are now saying that what matters is building on those changes. But with politicians arguing that our response must come at the expense of environmental protection - are we in danger of forgetting the deeper climate emergency? No going back Yes, it seems likely. Rather than using the opportunity offered by the coronavirus to change the way we live and make things more sustainable, governments are busy bailing out big, polluting businesses - airlines and oil companies. The focus is on returning to "normal" - looking backwards - instead of thinking seriously about radical alternatives. No, there are glimmers of hope. Milan is permanently changing 35km of its streets to bike paths and footpaths after the incredible drop in air pollution during lockdown. We can't forget about the deeper climate crisis because it is inseparable from the pandemic. What matters is that we now make the right choices - and change the way we live. KeywordsScrutiny - Carefully examining or looking into something to get information about it.

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