As 2021 nears, one can only hope that the Govt will put its might behind fighting climate change and environmental degradation
As we approach 2021, we cannot help looking back at the trail of death and devastation left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic. The year 2020 was no less than a nightmare as governments worldwide grappled with the virus even as the global economy plummeted to a new low, leaving millions unemployed and at their wits’ end.
During the fight against COVID-19 in India, environmental concerns and priorities took a back seat as the Government put all its weight behind fighting the deadly virus and its socio-economic impact on the nation. As per the latest count, India had a total of 10,224,797 COVID cases and 1,48,190 casualties, while the number of cases worldwide touched 81,767,170 with 1,784,026 people succumbing to the infection.
The successive waves of infection and the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic left India’s economy shattered and ruined. Unemployment figures drastically rose from 6.7 per cent in March to 26 per cent in April, which translates to nearly 140 million people losing their jobs in a shockingly short span of time.
Further, during the same period, business activity fell sharply from 82 per cent to 44 per cent, followed by the largest ever Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction of minus 24 per cent in the First Quarter (Q1) of the Financial Year (FY) 2020-21. In fact, the Indian economy is estimated to have suffered a loss of Rs 7-8 trillion during the first 21 days of the lockdown. The world has not fared well either. According to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, the economic losses triggered by the pandemic are expected to hit nearly $8 trillion, which is nearly nine per cent of the global GDP.
Among the adverse impacts of the pandemic, much less debated or talked about is the severe blow to women in the workforce. Many of the women, who lost their jobs or took time off during the pandemic in India and globally, are now finding it difficult to return to any gainful employment. Adding to their woes are a host of factors including unavailability of domestic help, the burden of household chores, care work and online schooling of children forced to stay at home during the pandemic.
Other factors, too, have dealt an unexpected blow to the economy which suddenly finds itself bereft of 30 per cent of its dedicated and skilled workforce. This has not only impacted household finances but also proved to be a setback to gender equality at the workplace. According to the Zinnov-Intel Gender Diversity study only 11 per cent of the Indian working women make it to top leadership positions compared to the global average of above 20 per cent. This bleak scenario is set to get worse as women find it difficult to find jobs in the current environment.
Needless to say, these extraordinary circumstances have sent Government departments into a tizzy and the overburdened administrative machinery has been unable to pay attention to other pressing areas that were already in a critical stage before the outbreak.
Environmental deterioration in the wake of climate change spurred by rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was a contentious issue, with feverish debates and deliberations happening both on the national and international forums. However, the contagion put an abrupt halt to all this. For a beleaguered environment, this is akin to a death knell.
Even before the pandemic hit the world, the deteriorating state of the environment and the impact of climate change were putting a huge strain on the economy. A report prepared by the United Nations titled ‘Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2018’ pegged the losses suffered by the Indian economy due to climate change at $79.5 billion in a period of two decades. This underlines the pitiable condition of the environment and the toll it is taking on our economy.
The pandemic has taught us many painful and expensive lessons besides revealing the vulnerabilities and the strengths of our nation. Amid this suffering, an optimistic India must discover the silver lining and chart the future course keeping the best interests of the environment in mind. The gravity of the pandemic forced us to evolve the best response mechanism that was able to mitigate the spread of the infection to a certain extent, which bought us some time to develop a vaccine. The same determination now needs to be applied to climate change adaption, environmental preservation and sustainable development.
More or less, the strategies adopted to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic should also be applied in handling the problem of environmental degradation. The very first stage in fighting the contagion involved accepting the problem. As the pandemic struck, the affected nations, especially India, rapidly acknowledged the problem and set about addressing it. The same strategy needs to be followed for handling environmental deterioration and exploitation. We need to actively understand and acknowledge the depth of the problem that pollution and climate change present.
Second, the COVID-19 outbreak has shown a superlative level of communication between the Government and the common man. This raised the level of public awareness regarding the pandemic and helped in ensuring that each and every member of the community became aware of the infection and the safety protocols. This became one of the largest public awareness programmes ever conducted in India. A similar large-scale public awareness programme must be kick-started by the Government for the conservation of the environment.
Third, the Government showed exemplary will by strictly enforcing the rules pertaining to COVID-19 prevention and management. It ensured that people adhered to COVID protocols and procedures that helped slow the transmission of the infection. This kind of enforcement, if practised for preserving the environment and ensuring climate change adaption, will go a long way in preserving the environment and protecting it. As we enter 2021, one can only hope that the Government will put its might behind fighting climate change and environmental degradation.
(The writer is an environmental journalist. The views expressed are personal.)