Will Covid19 have lasting effects on the environment?

There has been much talk recently as to whether the global lockdown due to Covid19 has been beneficial for the environment and whether the effects will be lasting. Here we explore whether Covid19 has been good or bad for the environment.

Reduced carbon emissions and pollution

The most obvious environmental benefit of the Covid19 lockdown measures, was the sudden drop in global carbon emissions, and consequently pollution, as industries, transport network and businesses closed down across the globe. According to a study published on May 19^th 2020 in the international journal Nature, in early April, with shutdowns widespread, daily global CO2 emissions temporarily decreased by -17% in early April 2020, compared with the mean levels for the same period in 2019.

However, despite the dramatic drop in greenhouse gas emissions, scientists warn that this pollution break will likely be insignificant when it comes to undoing global warming. Oksana Tarasova, Head of Atmospheric Environment Research Division at the World Meteorological Organization, says carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are still at record highs: “If we look at how the levels of atmospheric CO2 are formed, it’s not annual emissions in particular which are controlling the levels; it’s the whole accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times which actually form the current level. So, the reduced emissions within one particular year of this scale are very unlikely to have an impact on global levels of carbon dioxide,” she explained.

And indeed, with lockdowns easing, we are already seeing a return to pre-pandemic atmospheric pollution levels. However, many experts fear that the future may hold even more traffic, more pollution and climate change that worsens faster than ever.

Increased visibility of wildlife during Covid19 lockdown but poaching on the rise

During the crisis, there were also numerous reports of animals taking advantage of the absence of humans. Fish reappearing in the clear waters of Venice, lions lounging on roads normally frequented by safari-goers in South Africa, pumas prowling in Chile’s capital Santiago, dolphins and whales spotted in the South of France… and the list goes on. Indeed, whilst humans were confined, wildlife took the opportunity to fill abandoned spaces such as beaches and parks.

Endangered leatherback turtles have been seen laying their eggs on Thai beaches deserted by tourists for the first time in five years. In Florida, the number of leatherback sea turtle nests have skyrocketed compared to 2019. With no dogs or people walking over nests and exposing the eggs, there’s a good chance they will survive the 60 days until hatch day. By the end of the nesting season, if the increased numbers continue, it could provide a valuable boost for the vulnerable species.

Sadly, other species of turtles have not been so lucky. An NGO working to protect green turtles on France’s Mayotte island, reported an increase in the cases of turtle poaching, since rangers were prevented from monitoring the beaches due to the lockdown. Two poachers were caught smuggling 60kg of turtle meat destined to be sold on the black market to rich clients.

With the absence of tourists, poaching has also been on the rise for rhinoceros in Africa with at least 9 rhinos killed in South Africa and 6 in Botswana. Once containment measures were put in place in South Africa, rangers were reporting at least one incursion every day.

Still, it seems that wildlife was been given some welcome respite and the lockdown could not have come at a better time of year.

Wet markets and wildlife trade

Another positive impact of the Covid19 crisis has been increased awareness of wet markets in Asia and their impact on endangered wildlife as well as human health. The Huanan market in Wuhan, where the epidemic is said to have originated, reportedly offered a range of wild animals including live foxes, wolf cubs, bats, civets, snakes and pangolins.

The World Organisation for Animal Health, confirmed that Covid-19 is a “close relative” of other viruses found in horseshoe bats. So the virus could have passed from bat to human, or via an “intermediate host” – one theory is bat, to pangolin, to human.

In January 2020, China issued a temporary ban on the trade of wild animals. A month later, China’s top legislature adopted a decision to « thoroughly ban the illegal trading of wildlife and eliminating the consumption of wild animals to safeguard people’s lives and health. »

More recently, in early June, the Chinese Forest administration announced that it was removing scales and other Pangolin ingredients from the 2020 listing of authorised ingredients. This decision came several days after strengthening measures to protect this endangered species.

There is still a long way to go before these markets cease to exist completely. However, as the Wildlife Justice Commission rightly points out ‘this is a step in the right direction, and they hope that other governments will recognise the importance of this legislative change. Wildlife markets have become hubs for the trafficking of endangered wildlife and are contributing to the extinction of numerous species. It is time to shut down wildlife markets everywhere.”

Despite a number of positive outcomes, Inger Andersen, the head of the UN Environment Programme, has cautioned against viewing the Covid19 crisis has a boon for the environment. “Visible, positive impacts – whether through improved air quality or reduced greenhouse gas emissions – are but temporary, because they come on the back of tragic economic slowdown and human distress. Any positive environmental impact in the wake of this abhorrent pandemic must be in changing our production and consumption habits towards cleaner and greener solutions, since only long-term systemic shifts can change the trajectory of CO2 levels in the atmosphere.”

The problems in the natural world haven’t suddenly vanished – this week various researchers found that the Arctic is very likely to be free of sea ice in summers before 2050, that the bushfires that torched Australia earlier this year released more carbon than the country’s annual CO2 output and that the first quarter of 2020 was the second-warmest on record.