Green piece: Larger lessons from coronavirus outbreak

Climate crisis and air pollution ruin and kill many more, but it’s slower. We’ve got to prevent the spread, no doubt. But can we also learn from this dreadful pandemic?

The coronavirus a huge crisis, but why isn’t the death of several compatriots frequently scaring Indians equally? I’m talking about air pollution.

People wearing face masks walk inside an office building at the Lujiazui financial district in Pudong, Shanghai, China. (Reuters file photo)

But I could compare crises like global warming, too, with today’s big global scare.

As I see it, the scare has intensified because of the speed of the catastrophe, the death of perfectly healthy people and that it’s striking the wealthier parts of the world.

Climate crisis and air pollution ruin and kill many more, but it’s slower. We’ve got to prevent the spread, no doubt. But can we also learn from this dreadful pandemic?

The world’s reaction to the pandemic holds lessons for us in navigating our lives ahead. Travel and holidays involving flights and cruises have plummeted.

We’re trying to re-learn how to work from home efficiently.

Some countries realise how deep their dependence on China is for pharma and other imports and are toying with the idea of local production.

Of course, the virus has hit the economy.

Some immediate ideas include creating incentives for localized living, travelling less for every reason and simply spending less on non-essentials: retail therapy shouldn’t be a thing at all. We don’t have all the data but if there’s any good to be squeezed out of this misery, it is that we must analyse the most effective ways to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases that were taken and build on them.