Page 109 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

generated by the electricity production required to power our
electronic devices and transmit their data are roughly equivalent

to that of the global airline industry. [111] The conclusion? Even
unprecedented and draconian lockdowns with a third of the world
population confined to their homes for more than a month came
nowhere near to being a viable decarbonization strategy because,

even so, the world economy kept emitting large amounts of
carbon dioxide. What then might such a strategy look like? The
considerable size and scope of the challenge can only be

addressed by a combination of: 1) a radical and major systemic
change in how we produce the energy we need to function; and 2)
structural changes in our consumption behaviour. If, in the post-
pandemic era, we decide to resume our lives just as before (by
driving the same cars, by flying to the same destinations, by

eating the same things, by heating our house the same way, and
so on), the COVID-19 crisis will have gone to waste as far as
climate policies are concerned. Conversely, if some of the habits

we were forced to adopt during the pandemic translate into
structural changes in behaviour, the climate outcome might be
different. Commuting less, working remotely a bit more, bicycling
and walking instead of driving to keep the air of our cities as clean
as it was during the lockdowns, vacationing nearer to home: all

these, if aggregated at scale, could lead to a sustained reduction
in carbon emissions. This brings us to the all-important question of
whether the pandemic will eventually exercise a positive or

negative effect on climate change policies.

1.5.2. Impact of the pandemic on climate change
and other environmental policies

The pandemic is destined to dominate the policy landscape for

years, with the serious risk that it could overshadow
environmental concerns. In a telling anecdote, the convention
centre in Glasgow where the UN COP-26 Climate Summit should

have taken place in November 2020 was converted in April into a
hospital for COVID-19 patients. Already, climate negotiations have
been delayed and policy initiatives postponed, nourishing the
narrative that, for a long while, governmental leaders will only be

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