The bright side of Coronavirus outbreak

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, India’s CO2 emissions fell for the first time in the last 40 years. Besides the country’s economic recession and the renewables boom, the COVID-induced isolation measures played a key role in unfolding this temporary climate-friendly scenario.

But we don’t need striking statistics to appreciate the positive yet ephemeral effect of COVID confinement on carbon footprint reduction. After months of industry closure and lack of traffic, lockdown wiped away the smog off New Delhi, the world's most polluted capital.

Learning a sustainability lesson from pandemic

Ironically, as more and more people get vaccinated against Coronavirus, the return to the “new normal” will see a rise in the concentration of other dangerous particles such as carbon dioxide and PM2.5 in the air we breathe.

So, how can we turn the eco-friendly side-effect of pandemic into a long-lasting healthy condition for our planet?

The global pandemic has given us the chance to reflect on our society. We should aim for a fresh restart focusing all our energies on tackling the key challenge for our future: climate change.

A call for green economic recovery

Indian citizens seem to have learned the lesson, with 81% of them demanding a green economic recovery. The importance of shifting our focus to a greener, more sustainable economy is clearer than ever.