The opportunity for a green recovery is slipping through our fingers

2020 was thought to be the year the world would finally grapple with the environment.  In 2019, the scientific community had repeatedly sounded the alarm on biodiversity breakdown and the climate emergency, Extinction Rebellion were making headlines and Australia had began to suffer one of their worst seasons of forest fires. 

Instead, COVID-19 quickly stole the spotlight in early 2020, with international environmental conferences being postponed and the news stands became completely dominated by the oncoming pandemic. Although COVID-19 was considered a symptom of a biodiversity and climate crisis, this fact was glossed over as many poured over rising infection rates.

Almost as soon as European governments finally grasped the severity of COVID-19, both for the public and for the economy, they had instructed their civil servants to begin planning for the recovery.  Many governments have opted for creative recovery plans, to ensure that all would benefit from economic stimulus. Governments started pushing through policies that would be unthinkable only a few months before the pandemic – for instance, widespread furlough schemes and free housing for homeless people.

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This is where the green recovery comes into play.  COVID-19 offered a perfect springboard for revolutionary green policies.  Previously, even when governments had attempted to make the case for greener policies, it would be met with fervent opposition – assigning new regulation or changing subsidy policies could cause unpopular upheaval for business and individuals.  However, there was suddenly an appetite for bold new ideas and a need to build back not only quickly, but sustainably.

Many governments have included “green” recovery measures in their crisis recovery packages,  for example through grants, loans and tax reliefs directed towards green transport, circular economy and clean energy research, development and deployment. They also included new funding and programmes to create jobs and stimulate economic activity through ecosystem restoration, for example, governments recruiting new tree planters.  There was real optimism that this might be a turning point in swerving an imminent climate crisis.

However, the opportunity for a green recovery is quickly slipping through our fingers. Recently, many Western countries were looking to wean themselves off an addiction to disposable items – plastic straws, disposable coffee cups and plastic water bottles.  One Calififornian city even introduced a comprehensive law to fight throw-away food packaging, charging citizens for opting for choosing to use disposable coffee cups. This was important – not because some of these items were simply thrown away and took up landfill space, but ended up in our oceans, often causing serious harm to species. 

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However, we have become hyper-dependent on disposable items in this pandemic. Despite most Western countries introducing rules of mask-wearing months ago, many still use disposable face masks, rather than reusable and washable face masks.  In the UK, protective items such as gloves and face masks are now found on almost a third of all British beaches following a spike in use due to the pandemic. The Marine Conservation Society’s annual beach clean-up in September discovered the shocking increase in PPE litter.

Another area of focus for the green recovery was travel infrastructure.  Paris was celebrated for encouraging its citizens to cycle and walk.  Rather than adding pressure on the public transport system or taking a private car, which would only add to pollution levels, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has  introduced a new network of cycle lanes and touted the “15-minute city” idea, aiming to locate essential services within short walking and cycling distance of homes, as a tool for post-lockdown recovery.  Many other cities quickly followed suit.

However, some of the measures have been met with protests and in some of the worst cases, threatening and intimidating behaviour.  Although many people have ditched public transport and dusted the cobwebs off an old bike, many have turned to private use cars.  Certainly, ahead of second lockdowns in Paris and London, road traffic levels leapt in the cities and for London, in particular, data showed the worst congestion in two years, as many flocked to shops and second homes before closure.

In recent years, the responsibility for the environment has increasingly fallen to individuals to take action.  However, to keep the momentum needed for a green recovery, the government will need to take continued action to ensure that we build back better and greener.  Climate change and biodiversity destruction cannot be swerved through individual actions alone and governments need to utilise this opportunity to ensure that COVID-19 provides some respite for planet earth, rather than leaving it worse off.

In the end, COVID-19 has provided a stark reminder of what happens when humanity’s relationship with nature breaks down. As we recover we have an opportunity to build greener and cleaner cities, whilst protecting and restoring nature – ultimately reducing our exposure to deadly viruses and climate impacts.  This should be at the heart of all recovery plans.