As we collectively face a global pandemic, it is time to open our eyes and look outside the houses in which we will soon be confined. People have died, are dying and will keep dying due to the spread of COVID-19. People all over the world, even in countries where governments are not YET taking action, are reducing movement and social events. Businesses are finally seeing that smart-working does not mean less productivity. On the contrary, some employees are more efficient working in their own environment.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, data shows a slight decrease in Green-House Gas (GHG) emissions, followed by exponential growth due to old and emerging markets trying to reset or boost their financial strength. However, even during the financial crisis, people were still going to work, taking buses, trains and aeroplanes. During the global emergency that is COVID-19, humans are reducing movement and production rates at-scale, which is having a hugely positive impact on our environment worldwide. If water bodies and air in Italy are already starting to show signs of clearing, we can be sure that more positive results will be observed across the globe as more countries follow Italy and China’s footsteps and go into lockdown.
Lesson learnt from the 2008 financial crisis: the global CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and cement production grew by 5.9% in 2010, bringing us to the IPCC Report on Climate Change which states that if we don’t manage to keep the increase in global temperature below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the consequences will be disastrous.
THIS CRISIS DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN YOUNG AND OLD!
It is in times of crisis like this one, that healthy and sustainable companies that account for ESG factors have shown stronger resilience and capability of getting back on track once the emergency is over. The MSCI Europe ESG Leaders index concurrently to the outbreak of the COVID-19 outperformed the EU benchmark by 180 basis points since the beginning of the year.
For example, the global health-care system has taken giant steps forward over the past decades, in part thanks to investments from the private sector. Doctors and nurses worldwide are currently working under extreme pressure with a huge sense of duty to mankind, and thanks to this we can be confident that we will overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and soon, we will go back to friends’ gatherings or simply watching our favourite sports game in a stadium.
Looking at the positive side of this crisis, COVID-19 is an opportunity to allow nature to detox from our pollution and for us to collectively take the time to reflect on the lessons we can learn, and more importantly, implement, once we have passed this crisis.
STAY HOME and STAY SAFE, for YOU and for the ENVIRONMENT!
