Scene2 Producer Olivia Hoy looks beyond COVID-19

In the current climate amidst the chaos of Covid-19, it is easy to become bogged down in the rather bleak and sombre statistics circulating in the news. However, it is important to also focus our minds on more positive statistics.

In regions significantly affected by Covid-19, such as China and Italy, they have noted drastic reductions in air pollution, as the aviation industry and other forms of transport grind to a halt. An analysis carried out for the climate website Carbon Brief suggested there had been a 25% drop in energy use and emissions in China over a two week period. This is likely to lead to an overall fall of about 1% in China’s carbon emissions this year, experts believe. (BBC News). In Venice, photos have also surfaced of birds and dolphins that have returned to clearer waters, in the absence of motorised transport on the water.

The sudden reduction in the amount that we travel, for both business and pleasure, has proven that reduced travel is in fact possible. We have shown both to ourselves and World Leaders across the globe, that it is possible to reduce the amount that we travel, and in turn combat the effects of climate change.

Covid-19 has shown us that our current lifestyles are a product of habit and convenience, not always of necessity. We have the potential and the time to revert climate change and consider the way in which we live, and Covid-19 has provided a small, but bittersweet insight into this. It is important to remember that the changes we see now are temporary, and as such, some practices that we adopt during this period should be taken forward to a post Covid-19 planet!

The Guardian – Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution

Politico – 6 ways coronavirus is changing the environment

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