What the world’s response to coronavirus can teach us about tackling the climate emergency

Last year, the British Parliament, the Scottish Government and the European Parliament all declared a global climate emergency. ‘Climate emergency’ was one of Oxford Dictionary’s words of the year, defining it as “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it”. We are still waiting for the urgent action.

Over the next decade, difficult decisions and trade-offs will need to be made to meet global emission reduction targets. The coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced governments to take urgent social distancing strategies such as working from home, disrupting children’s education and avoiding unnecessary travel. Many of these measures are delivering welcomed, but unintended, environmental benefits. For example, in China the closure of factories has meant cleaner air.