Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic

Covid-19 has turned society throughout the world upside down. In the UK (as in most western nations) nothing has had such a far-reaching impact since the Second World War. We are a generation who have felt secure, carefree, and largely in control of nature. We need to reflect on this global crisis in many contexts – but what does it say to us about the climate and ecological emergency? Is God speaking?

Truth or consequences?

No-one has been able to ignore the impact of Coronavirus… though some of us have tried. Governments, and more obviously Donald Trump, started out delaying drastic action for fear of its impact on the economy. There was a sense that we were invincible - that the virus couldn’t be that bad. Our world view just did not allow us to contemplate a disaster on this scale.

How quickly we forget the lessons of history, such as the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. How poor we are at learning lessons from crises in other countries – such as the 2018 Ebola outbreak in DRC (Africa). What pride we have exhibited to ignore the advice of those we don’t agree with - Barak Obama said this in 2014: “There may and likely will come a time in which we have both an airborne disease that is deadly. And in order for us to deal with that effectively, we have to put in place an infrastructure, not just here at home, but globally that allows us to isolate it quickly, see it quickly, respond to it quickly.”

The parallels with the climate crisis are obvious. The facts have been out there for at least thirty years, but powerful economic entities have succeeded in twisting or hiding the facts. One example of this was Climategate in 2009, when emails of genuine scientists were hacked and taken out of context, causing the climate deniers to shout “conspiracy”. This knocked back global action on CO2 by several years. A current source of misinformation is the April 2020 film, “Planet of the Humans” by Michael Moore. This looks like a credible left-wing attack on green activism and renewable energy – but it has been condemned as outdated and full of mis-information by all but the fossil fuel industry.

We with our materialistic western lifestyle view our comfort and security as our entitlement, and something to be aspired to if we feel we don’t have it yet. Our world view did not, does not, allow us to contemplate that drastic change is needed – or that business as usual cannot go on. We are sure that science and technology will provide an answer. There have been exceptions. Some groups have been raising the alarm for decades, and people derided as hippies or eco-warriors have been taking their own personal actions to care for the planet. But these actions have had little impact. Graphs show greenhouse gas levels are continuing rise exponentially - and causing ever more warming.

Preparation and Response - Coronavirus

We have seen clearly that the UK government’s lack of preparation and slow response (when compared with e.g. South Korea and Germany) - has had devastating consequences in terms of the number of infections and deaths. A major reason for this has been the prioritising of the economy. Decades of austerity have led to the side-lining of seemingly less urgent projects such as pandemic preparedness; fear of financial crisis delayed the necessary lockdown. These factors have not helped the economy at all – they have more likely extended lockdown and its impact on business and revenue.

While our government was prevaricating, a few people sounded the alarm. Their impact was not enough though, while everyone else was continuing with business as usual. Most of us only accepted the seriousness of the situation, and followed the guidelines, when the government and health experts spelled it out. Ultimately the guidelines had to become law and the financial bailout enacted before the necessary changes were made.

Preparation and response - Climate Crisis

The same story of neglected preparation and slow response is even more apparent with the climate crisis. The UK government has been giving out mixed messages about what response is needed. While, there has been investment in renewable energy, and a belated commitment to tree-planting, there has been no joined-up crisis decision-making as there is now with the Coronavirus threat. There is no law insisting that businesses cut their emissions, no taxes or financial incentives to promote ‘green’ business and living, no law insisting new builds are carbon-neutral, no financial assistance for those in high-carbon occupations to convert to carbon-friendly occupations. They have set a too-distant objective to be carbon-neutral by 2050 – but even their own agencies say they are on course to fail this target.

The climate and ecological emergency has been creeping up on us, the facts suppressed, and the evidence refuted. Even as we experience higher temperatures every year, and our home-grown fires and floods in the UK are costing deeply in terms of money, trust and personal tragedy, government is continuing to favour investment in carbon intensive projects. These include the HS2 railway, which is also destroying the carbon capture and natural environment provided by 108 areas of mature woodland; a brand-new deep coal mine in Cumbria, which somehow claims to be carbon neutral, and the largest new gas burning power station in Europe! As with the pandemic, the government’s delays, lack of preparedness and foolish investments will not help business and the economy in the long run. The shocking impact of the corona virus on global economies could be portending their total collapse due to the impacts of climate breakdown, and the crisis counter-measures that will, sooner or later, be forced upon us because we didn’t act sooner.

Costs and compensations - the pandemic

In looking at the response to the threat of Coronavirus around the world, it’s clear that the price of inaction is devastating in terms of loss of human life - and it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are bearing the greatest losses. But what has been the cost of taking action? Those countries which were best prepared and took action early, such as South Korea, appear to have fared best. Here, restrictions have been limited, guidance from the government has been strong, industries and institutions have been redirected to meet the needs of testing and protection. But for most of us, restrictions have been severe. There are huge consequences for everyone who is having to self-isolate in terms of loss of freedom and community. The impact has been worst for the poor who are living in cramped conditions. For many there are impacts on our wellbeing - e.g. Relate and other domestic abuse support lines have received a large increase in requests for help. And there is trouble stored up for the future, for example with alcohol addiction. Then there are the financial costs – too huge to contemplate; this will be felt for many years to come, at every level – government, business, and individuals – creating a problem for the next generation.

There are a few compensations though – some of which are impacting on global carbon emissions: we are consuming less (buying only what we need, not what we want) and reducing travel emissions. Where the technology has allowed, many of us have become better connected with distant friends. We have discovered we can work without having to commute huge distances to a shared office – or around the world for that conference. It has brought out the best in people who want to help, and we are finding ways to contribute within our communities. For many, we have been forced to look at our lives, and reassess our way of thinking and habits - and some of us have done so very creatively. For people of faith, it has made us look to God. Our faith has been stretched and deepened. Church, which for centuries has been bound by its buildings, is now discovering new ways of connecting, of worshipping together, of reaching out.

Costs and compensations - the climate crisis

What about the costs of the climate and ecological emergency? We have seen elsewhere the devastating results of inaction which already assail the world, especially the poorest and most vulnerable communities. These things are set to get worse still with every degree of global warming, every hectare of nature lost.

What are the costs of taking action? The climate crisis is a slow worsening condition, akin to the development of type-2 diabetes, or blocked arteries, rather than the sudden onset of Covid-19. The crisis hasn’t (yet) needed the sudden lockdown response… but it does need a wholesale plan for change. The time for this was at diagnosis 30 years ago – but action right now will still limit the damage. Otherwise it will simply be too late, like the kidney failure or limb amputation which are sometimes the result of uncontrolled diabetes. On a positive note, many newly diagnosed diabetics say how much better they feel when they address their diagnosis and make radical change to their lifestyles. The diagnosis which was initially confusing, shocking, and challenging - turns out to be a positive life-giving thing!

Some of the most drastic actions needed disproportionately affect the most influential business corporations in the world – fossil fuel producers. We know that coal, oil, and gas must be left in the ground as we find new sustainable ways to satisfy human life. If fossil-fuel corporations do not change into renewable energy suppliers, they effectively have to stop trading. There is nothing like the threat of financial collapse to make them fight to the bitter end - so governments need to be strong. But in light of their response to Coronavirus, we now know governments can make costly decisions when they have to. These decisions are greatly eased by the knowledge that all around the world, other countries are making the same tough decisions. Can there be any form of global consensus when the past 25 United Nations climate conferences have so far failed to achieve this? We must hope and pray and act that there can be agreement.

Governments don’t just need to take action to combat fossil fuel use, they need to take voters with them – for a loss of “freedoms” (such as unrestricted global travel) which plunder the planet is inevitable. Everyone will need to buy less, recycle more and live with consideration for the lives of others in distant countries – and for the planet itself. Most of us will only accept these restrictions when we have to. The cost of living will rise, and this will hurt the poorest. The government must find ways, as they have with Coronavirus, to make sure everyone has what they need. These are but a few of the repercussions – but the sooner the decisions are made, and the better prepared we are, the better it will be.

As a final note, any action to slow down climate and ecological breakdown is also likely to reduce substantially the risk of further pandemics. Evidence suggests Covid-19 has come from bats, possibly via pangolins. Inger Andersen, the environment boss at the UN, warns us that the animal kingdom contains many aggressive disease-causing pathogens, and that 75% of new human diseases have come from the animal kingdom. These are far more likely to pass to humans where we are invading their territory. When we stop clawing more and more land from nature for food production, industry and mining, we are less likely to be exposed to pathogens crossing over from animals and birds.

Conclusion

We have seen how quickly governments can response, how some businesses can adapt to the change in circumstances, how people adapt to new ways of living once they understand the peril of the emergency. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that to be prepared, to take action early, and to act across the globe reduces the deadly impact of the threat. This same level of investment, management and personal action is required to reduce the climate and ecological emergency. This won’t happen by relying on corporate and individual goodwill – though these are important. It will only happen through great leadership and tough decisions in governments around the world. Just like fighting the Coronavirus, it will be costly in terms of the economy and will initially feel costly in terms of personal freedom. But as we adopt Christ-like values such as simple lifestyles, love for neighbours, and justice for the nations, maybe we will come to realise that life can still be good, and that society can be so much healthier and happier. If we act now to build a future where God is honoured and nature is respected, we will live healthy and fulfilled lives on this beautiful planet.

May 2020

Resources

Praying in a Pandemic from Christian Aid.

Watch "Doctors From Earth Day: What Future Do We Choose?" on YouTube.

Listen to Tom Heap report on the environmental impact of Covid-19 on the BBC programme Costing the Earth.

The World Rebooted, campaign by Tearfund.

Letter To Humanity, written by: Vivienne R Reich, on Facebook.

The Great Realisation - 2020, on YouTube.

Radical Presence is a short programme of conversations, in which we’ll listen for God’s word in this time of pandemic.