* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
We're changing what we do quickly to respond to the pandemic - could we do the same to respond to climate threats?
Trude Rauken is deputy director of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance
As communities around the world participate in joint efforts to flatten the coronavirus curve, we all are, for the most part, taking that individual responsibility seriously. Why? Because governments are convincingly telling us to do so and placing restrictions on irresponsible behavior. By changing our behavior, we can stop or slow the spread of the virus.
Now we need the same line of thinking for the climate crisis to bend the curve. And because we cannot wait for escalating symptoms - i.e. more extreme weather, mass migration, food insecurity, or flooded cities - governments everywhere need to place restrictions on irresponsible behavior, to stop the spread of emissions.
The coronavirus crisis has clear parallels to the climate crisis. Internationally, there is general agreement that the pandemic is a global responsibility. National governments are instituting broad social restrictions and establishing finance mechanisms to save industries and jobs. Locally, it's the cities on the frontlines, limiting local spread.
On climate, the Paris agreement set the stage for national targets and it is cities, again, on the frontlines, working quickly to reduce the spread of emissions.
There are three COVID-to-climate analogies worth learning from here.
The first involves how we move around. We changed that quickly with COVID-19. We reduced non-essential business travel and now we’re physically distancing. The climate parallel? We need to reduce what spreads emissions - the number of carbon-emitting cars on the streets - and make room for safe and zero emission alternatives.
Reducing the spread of emissions from cars means more space for people to walk, bike and take public transit.
Our cities – members of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance - are rolling this out globally by closing streets to cars, incentivizing transport electrification and investing in infrastructure.
When New York City, for example, closed Times Square to cars, the main criticism was that it would hurt business, and city officials admitted nervousness about how people would react. Yet, New Yorkers quickly reclaimed the streets and businesses boomed.
Similarly, Oslo restricted diesel cars and, in partnership with the Norwegian government, made electric vehicles cheaper to buy and use, and now more than half of all new cars registered in the city are electric.
The second involves how we eat. We know that industrial animal farming contributed to the coronavirus, as it has contributed to the majority of deadly viruses over the last few decades. If we want to prevent future viruses, we need to rethink how we produce and consume animals. The climate parallel?
We need to do the same on the climate front, since industrial animal farming is responsible for over 14% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
A meat-heavy diet leads to much higher spread of emissions than a plant-based diet. Reducing the spread of emissions from industrial animal farming will leave us in better health and with more land to feed humans.
Cities, again, are leading the behavior change here, stopping meat service in city-owned cafeterias and schools and requiring that events supported by the city be plant-based. Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance member Glasgow, for example, promotes sustainable food policy throughout their entire school system.
The third involves the products we purchase. Right now, governments are telling us not to stockpile food and household items like toilet tissue and cleaners and sanitizers, assuring us that there will be enough for everyone. Simultaneously, industries are retooling their factories to help with medical response and equipment. The climate parallel?
We need to rethink how we approach products and how we engage our industries in a climate-changed and carbon-light world. In the linear industrial economy, two-thirds of the material flow ends up as pollution: carbon emissions and waste.
Cities, yet again, are playing a key role in the shift towards a circular economy. Another Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance city, Amsterdam, is leading the way and aims to be fully circular by 2050. Amsterdam’s circular economy policies will support industry making use of, and keeping, resources in the system longer. The next step for cities: restrict the allowable amount of household waste, forcing us to consider the product’s end of life and buy fewer and higher quality things.
If we want to prevent the coming climate crisis, we need to take a lesson from the coronavirus, change behavior and slow the spread of emissions. For individuals, that means reducing car traffic, eating less meat and consuming fewer goods. But that’s only possible if governments step up, lead, and put parameters on what’s possible. That’s what crisis leadership looks like – and we need it now.
