Scientists: Covid did little to slow ‘catastrophic threat’ of climate crisis

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Local authorities respond to the 2020 Slater fire in Happy Camp, California.

Will Harling/Med Klamath Watershed Council

Nearly 18 months after COVID-19 began spreading and slowing the pace of life around the world, scientists are repeating a dire warning: The climate crisis is still very much with us.

In November 2019, BioScience published an article signed by more than 11,000 scientists declaring a global climate emergency. On Tuesday, the same magazine released an update to the announcement, which showed improvements in some key metrics due to the pandemic, but ultimately concluded that it did little to reverse the alarming course of the planet’s natural systems.

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The article reads: “One of the main lessons from COVID-19 is that even massive reductions in transportation and consumption are nearly insufficient, and instead changes to the transformational system are required, and they must outpace policy.” “Given the effects we see at about 1.25°C warming, along with the many reinforcement feedback loops and potential tipping points, there is an urgent need for large-scale climate action.”

The authors, led by Professor of Ecology William Ripple and Forest Ecosystems researcher Christopher Wolf of Oregon State University, cite catastrophic floods, wildfires and devastating heat waves such as those seen in the past 20 months as examples of climate change fingerprints.

The article is not a rigorous scientific study of an update of a number of key data points. The paper provides the latest trends for both human-related activities such as carbon dioxide emissions and the loss of the Brazilian Amazon as well as environmental indicators such as atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and ice mass loss in Greenland and Antarctica.

The data shows a COVID-related decrease in air travel, global GDP and carbon dioxide emissions, but also found record levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, an increase in livestock numbers and ocean acidification as well as the horrific loss of ice around the world, from glaciers and ice sheets to the near disappearance of summer Arctic sea ice.

“Global GDP declined by 3.6% in 2020, but is expected to rebound to an all-time high,” Ripple said in a statement. “Most likely due to the pandemic, fossil fuel consumption has decreased since 2019, as well as carbon dioxide emissions and airline travel levels. All of this is expected to rise significantly as the economy opens up.”

More than 2,800 other scientists have signed on to the declaration since 2019. This week’s update reiterates several calls for action from the original article, including eliminating fossil fuels and air pollutants such as soot and methane, switching to predominantly plant-based diets, a more sustainable economy, and stabilizing Then gradually reduce the population.

It’s a long task and a list of demands that is sure to satisfy a lot of resistance, but Wolf says our massive impact on the planet does much more than just add a little heat to the atmosphere and adds that responding with half the measures won’t cut it he-she.

“As long as humanity’s pressure on the Earth system continues, attempts at remediation will only redistribute the pressure,” Wolf said. “But by halting the unsustainable exploitation of natural habitats, we can reduce the risk of transmission of zoonoses, protect carbon stocks and preserve biodiversity, all at the same time.”

Wolf adds that the top priority should be “immediate and drastic reductions in greenhouse gases, especially methane.”

Ripple concludes that climate considerations should be part of post-pandemic planning.

“We need to quickly change the way we work, and new climate policies must be part of COVID-19 recovery plans wherever possible. It is time for us to come together as a global community with a shared sense of cooperation, urgency and equity.”

The new paper comes out two weeks before the IPCC plans to release a new report on the latest understanding of warming trends and future projections. Leaders also plan to meet in November in Glasgow for COP 26, the latest international conference on climate change.

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