In November 2019, if we were told that our lives would come to a standstill within three months, the idea would have sounded incredulous. A global crisis seemed to be a worry of the distant future, and not a concern of the present.
As the world recovers from COVID-19, we are trying to return to a new normal. On our way to this normalcy, we have been offered an opportunity to reflect on our actions and consider how we can be more resilient to such shocks, from pandemics to climate change. This pandemic has renewed faith in the word of experts; from scientists who repeatedly warned us about potentially infectious outbreaks, to economists, epidemiologists and public health experts who pushed for investments in our healthcare systems.
In September 2019, just before the world was ravaged by COVID-19, a report by the World Health Organization found that annually investing upto $3.4 billion in improving health systems could yield benefits of more than $30 billion, in addition to saving countless human lives. Similarly, a report by the Global Commission on Adaptation in the same month recommended investing $1.8 trillion to prepare for climate change. This investment could yield benefits worth $7.1 trillion, making inaction financially, socially, and environmentally irresponsible. Although COVID-19 and climate change are two vastly different shocks, it is impossible to ignore that investing to adapt is an environmental, social, and economic opportunity.
While they were warning us about the imminent dangers of not heeding their advice, public health experts faced the same frustrations climate scientists have for years. From governments downplaying early warnings of an outbreak, to citizens protesting safety measures put in place, the reactions paid no heed to the words of caution put forth after elaborate modelling and analysis by experts.
However, these experts were proven right within months. The pandemic has already claimed over 300,000 lives worldwide and is projected to cost the global economy upto $8.8 trillion. Ideally, such a moment should be avoided altogether; if not, delayed. Large-scale human suffering is too steep a price to pay for being right.
As we now heed the advice of experts, unified, multilateral action will be instrumental in carrying us through the concerns of the present, and the ecological, social, and economic crises of the future. Such action is crucial for us to successfully mitigate and adapt to the next imminent crisis: anthropogenic (or man-made) climate change.
Post Carbon Institute