What's Next for Climate Change? Suwatchai Songwanich

Relentless efforts to combat Covid-19 have shifted the world's focus away from other hot-button issues that had been gaining momentum, such as climate change.

The good news is that the massive curtailment of travel and other economic activity because of the Covid-19 outbreak has reduced carbon emissions across the board this year. Energy use in China is down 25% as manufacturing activity and fuel consumption declined as businesses were shuttered and millions of people stayed at home under a strictly enforced quarantine.

Blue skies are now seen across much of China as the lack of traffic has brought a sharp improvement in air quality, while clear water has returned to the canals of Venice as Italy undergoes a lockdown.

Analysts say this year could see the first fall in global emissions since the 2008 global financial crisis. However, it is unlikely the pandemic will reverse the ongoing upward trend in global emissions. This is because the outbreak is already causing severe economic conditions, leading many countries to consider sacrificing long-term environmental goals to reboot their economies.

China, for example, is exploring easing emissions standards for the automotive industry which has been hard hit this year.

Relentless efforts to combat Covid-19 have shifted the world's focus away from other hot-button issues that had been gaining momentum, such as climate change.

The good news is that the massive curtailment of travel and other economic activity because of the Covid-19 outbreak has reduced carbon emissions across the board this year. Energy use in China is down 25% as manufacturing activity and fuel consumption declined as businesses were shuttered and millions of people stayed at home under a strictly enforced quarantine.

Blue skies are now seen across much of China as the lack of traffic has brought a sharp improvement in air quality, while clear water has returned to the canals of Venice as Italy undergoes a lockdown.

Analysts say this year could see the first fall in global emissions since the 2008 global financial crisis. However, it is unlikely the pandemic will reverse the ongoing upward trend in global emissions. This is because the outbreak is already causing severe economic conditions, leading many countries to consider sacrificing long-term environmental goals to reboot their economies.

China, for example, is exploring easing emissions standards for the automotive industry which has been hard hit this year.

Suwatchai Songwanich is an executive vice-president with Bangkok Bank.

This article was published in Bangkok Post dated 30 March 2020. Republished with permission.