The Consequential Effects of Covid-19 on the Climate Crisis

Credit: UNDP, GhanaBy Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin OkyenheneACCRA Ghana, Jun 1 2020 (IPS) The tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic and its associated challenges have thrown our world into chaos, with the virus destroying lives and livelihoods in its path. The whole world is presently seized by the effects of the pandemic, but there is a silent crisis of equal measure that has long been ravaging lives, devastating livelihoods, destroying property and threatening the fate of our entire planet. This is the global climate crisis. Unlike COVID-19, climate change and its impacts are not novel processes. What is new is the severity, frequency and rapid rate of change laced with extreme events that are slowly becoming metaphors for human suffering and deprivation. Incontrovertible evidence firmly anchored in science suggest that the climate crisis is reaching a tipping point, with huge and potentially irreversible damage to our planet, our economies and overall human security. The World Meteorological Organisation states emphatically that the impact of climate change on our planet is ‘reaching a crescendo, with the past five years being the hottest on record’. Our world cannot be in denial of the climate crisis any longer. COVID-19 is devastating thousands of lives and threatening millions, but the impacts of climate change are endangering the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. The ongoing pandemic must be a wake-up call to our global community of the ultimate costs of ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Climate Change Economy & Trade Featured Global Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news