There’s clear water in the Venice canals, blue skies over Delhi and wild animals are roaming boldly in locked-down cities. The oil industry and airlines are floundering in this new world, and carbon emissions are falling fast.
But there are also mountains of food going to waste that our supply chains aren’t set up to deal with. And, what’s more, the radical changes to daily life that we’re seeing now are not – thankfully – going to be permanent.
History tells us that when emissions have fallen sharply in the past, as they do after recessions, there’s often a rocketing rebound that wipes out any short-term cut in emissions. (Read more about Covid-19’s lasting impact on the environment.)
Is this pandemic any different?
Future Planet talks to BBC Minute about the close ties between lockdown and carbon emissions. In a nutshell: we could see long-lasting positive environmental change after the pandemic. But it’s all down to how we move on after lockdown.
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