Thoughts on Connections Between COVID-19 Pandemic And Climate Crisis

There is no substitute for preparation, without which much time is lost trying to catch up to the problem.

Supply chains are vulnerable and easily damaged and disrupted, thus damaging the economy as well as interfering with the more timely and effective responses to disasters.

Tipping points happen quickly. Although climate change is a slow-moving disaster, some events—for example, wildfires and hurricanes—can lead to major and vast changes. As Thomas Friedman urges, you should manage the unavoidable so that you can avoid the unmanageable.

We are only as resilient as the most vulnerable. Income inequality, social exclusion, and other social determinants of health undermine efforts to promote healthy and resilient communities.

Many disaster movies begin with the government ignoring a scientist. The current dramatic gap in the number of scientists in government positions compared with past administrations is proving to be a major handicap in the response to the pandemic.

Not having a social cost for carbon leads to further and faster weakening of the environment, leading to more calamitous events, for example, infectious disease outbreaks, hurricanes, wildfires, sea level rise, and mass migration.

We are now seeing (and will continue to see) hospital and public health system capacity extremely challenged due to patient surges. The limitations on responsiveness to increased demand for various health services, and the potential collapse of the American health care system, can be easily imagined to apply to many of the health impacts from acute extreme weather events as well as heat waves, mass migration, and future climate facilitated infectious disease outbreaks. The current pandemic is one of a number of preambles to the more severe consequences of global warming and its inexorable trajectory.

International collaboration is necessary to address major problems. Many nations are recognizing the need to collaborate and engage in mutual assistance through health, social service, and economic initiatives to address the pandemic. When the degree of urgency is finally recognized and acknowledged on a global basis, international collaboration should be a major part of addressing the climate crisis.

The United States must enact broad reforms and reinvestment in the future well-being of its people and systems. Friedman asserts that “as we invest in infrastructure to stimulate our economy out of this corona crisis, we should be doing it to make our society more resilient against both pandemics and climate change.” In the United States, the next stimulus package from Congress must address components of the Green New Deal, including just transitions for those working in fossil fuel industries to nonpolluting employment, promotion of green technology in the form of alternative energy production and transportation methods that are more accessible to all income groups, and the development of regional partnerships for clean energy systems. The health system also clearly needs dramatic reforms to be better prepared for crises as well as the regular provision of health services. The health system must provide universal access; Medicare for All may be one of the options. The mental health needs associated with the COVID pandemic and with the climate crisis are only beginning to be seen and understood. They will be among the most enduring problems to be addressed, even after the immediate impacts of the various disasters are resolving. Any new stimulus packages must include sufficient funding for mental health services and community resilience preparation.