The dual crises of Climate Change and COVID-19 (part two): responses, hopes and the future of travel

Introduction

Today’s younger generation carry the hopes and demands for a better, sustainable world (Image: Unsplash)

As the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) stated in its 2018 Living Planet Report, “We are the first generation that has a clear picture of the value of nature and the grave situation we are facing. We may also be the last generation that can do something about it”. What so many of us hold dear exists under constant threat. Nonetheless, we still have opportunities to address this emergency at policy, civil society and individual levels. Ways of bridging an action gap between simply holding a set of values or expressing concern and taking meaningful actions and developing beneficial green habits are crucial. Additionally, retaining connections with the natural world help our mental wellbeing.

We need to remember what it is in nature that makes us happy such as stopping to listen to birdsong, identifying wildflowers, watching butterflies or the simple act of walking. For many in more densely populated areas, the enforced closure of much of everyday life under COVID-19 has provided an inadvertent blessing. The joy and benefits of less polluted air, clearer skies and the wonders of nature have given us a glimpse of what a greener, cleaner world might look and sound like, placing the natural world at its rightful centre. There could be a double benefit in providing a response to both current crises rather than relegating the climate emergency to the backburner. The damage to mental health will be a major legacy of COVID-19, when “social isolation, fear of contagion, and loss of family members is compounded by the distress caused by loss of income and often employment.” Psychiatrists expect children to be a particular cause of concern. By boosting our emotional response through nature, we help make ourselves more emotionally secure.

Linking the two crises - policy making

Whilst the benefits of embracing nature in this way assists coping with both crises, does a comparable situation exist at the level of policy? The COVID-19 pandemic has collided with the climate change emergency. It is being reported that atmospheric CO2 levels have continued to increase as the effect of the global COVID-19 lockdowns has only been marginal. The key question currently looming over us is not whether we can address the two crises together, but rather, whether we can afford not to? A coherent response must integrate solutions to both of these.

Although the pandemic has forced the postponement of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Mary Robinson (former UN climate envoy, and chair of the Elders group of international leaders), is reported saying: “Very definitely we need to tie together a green recovery and Cop26 – that is imperative. UK leadership can and should urge forward a net-zero carbon transition from the Covid-19 crisis. Leadership is needed, moral, political, economic and social leadership.”

According to Mark Carney (former governor of the Bank of England and current UN special envoy on climate action), "We have a situation with climate change which will involve every country in the world and from which we can't self-isolate." Investments in decarbonising the world economy “could turn an existential risk into the greatest commercial opportunity of our time.”

Others have been thinking and expressing themselves along similar lines. There is growing intellectual ballast to underpin a huge opportunity to begin solving the massive crises simultaneously. The practical means for achieving this lies in what has become known as a Green New Deal or Green Recovery. Furthermore, the way these policies become enacted must also address the pressing issues of structural and institutional racism highlighted by the widespread protests following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. Whether the requisite leadership is shown across all these issues in the weeks and months ahead, remains a major challenge.

Green New Deal

A Green New Deal is being canvassed today as a platform for building a ‘new normal’, providing the basis for organising the economy, society, towns, cities and the countryside. At its core is a focus on decarbonising industries, developing clean and renewable energy sources, expanding energy efficiency programmes including home insulation, manufacturing electric vehicles and constructing its necessary infrastructure such as charging networks, redesigning roads for more cycling and walking, expanding broadband, digital, secure smart technologies, and other clean industries. Land and marine ecosystems need to be restored, including woodlands and river catchment area management, to help flood protection and support sustainable food, farming and fishing. All these elements need to be supported and incentivised by research, innovation, training and backed by appropriate laws and regulations. This sharpened focus provides the opportunity to create better living conditions, offers resilience and a kinder relationship with the environment, thus mitigating the risks of pandemics and the adverse effects of climate heating.

The EU, for instance, is focussed on supporting economic activities that either help reduce carbon emissions or promotes digital business. The key question is which industries should qualify for support? Should the focus be on self-evidently green sectors like solar power, or helping dirty companies try to clean up? Carney has stated it is neither one approach or another. “We need fifty shades of green to catalyse and support all companies toward net zero,” he said. For instance, rescues for airlines and vehicle manufacturers could be tied to an agreement on a set of environmental conditions to support it through a transition phase. The recent rescue agreement between Air France-KLM and the French and Dutch governments, including future curtailment of internal flights in favour of rail journeys, is illustrative of the possibility. In contrast, the UK government has attached no environmental conditions to the financial support provided to airlines and therefore not contributing to its 2050 net-zero emissions target.

Impact on travel

Tourism has been a major global industry. People went on 1.4bn foreign trips in 2018, twice the number in 2000. By the industry’s reckoning, 330m jobs covering airline pilots to tour guides and chambermaids depend on travellers. However, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has stated that international tourism is expected to fall by 60-80% in 2020, the biggest slump since the 1950s. Europe will be hit especially hard as it receives over half of the world’s tourists every year.

Aircraft grounded at Bournemouth airport during the COVID-19 crisis (Image: NPAS)

Clearly, international travel and the tourism industry has to reset at a lower level, and find ways to adapt and re-configure itself. As countries struggle to find ways of safely easing the lockdowns, those that are heavily dependent on tourism will have to rethink and position themselves in new ways. Previously planned investments in airports, airlines, hotels and other cultural and leisure complexes are likely to be paused, if not cancelled. Airlines (e.g. Virgin Atlantic) are seeking state support, leisure and hospitality companies (e.g. TUI) are shedding jobs, and hotels are lying empty. London Heathrow’s appeal against its plans for a third runway being ruled illegal on climate change grounds, now appears to have lost credibility.

A ‘traditional’ mindset that believes “the world is your oyster” no longer seems appropriate. Rather than an unfettered freedom of treating the world as a playground, limits on what is feasible or acceptable are becoming more apparent. Hordes of cruise ship passengers being discharged into towns and cities, or cheap budget air flights encouraging boozy stag / hen weekends may no longer become acceptable. Instead, travellers will become increasingly mindful of how they travel, seeking to generally lower their travel footprint. Embracing ‘slow(er)’ travel may become more commonplace. How this will all play out Is likely to depend on the readiness of a vaccine allowing mass immunisation.

A complexity of travel restrictions, quarantine requirements and continuing social distancing are likely to stay in place in various forms around the world for some time to come. To re-open and salvage what they can, European countries are looking at ways of saving what remains of the summer 2020 season. Yet with the prospect of quarantine regulations being put in place, either at destinations or on returning home, the attraction of Mediterranean sun, for instance, may not yet appeal. The lockdowns may have led some to harbour a pent-up desire for a holiday, but others will retain fears or lack confidence that safe and COVID secure environments will be possible before they respond to the promotions of travel companies.

Numerous people will unfortunately have been financially hard hit by the impact of the pandemic, preventing them from considering travel and holidays, at least in the near future. Besides budget considerations, travellers will also have different risk attitudes, tastes and preferences. With social distancing measures likely to remain, providers of travel services and experiences will need to adapt. Airports and major rail stations may shift to enabling greater contactless procedures and journeys. Crowded cities and other hot spots may no longer appear attractive, but smaller or remoter places might gain greater appeal. Enhanced cleaning and hygiene control will be central to hotel management, while buffet-style food provision is likely to disappear from the menu. Even with adaptation, uncertain times are likely to exist for the travel sector for sometime yet.

Local & civil society - green cities

Utrecht vertical forest - to what extent will cities be redesigned according to new priorities?

The need for solutions to the crises has moved various people and organisations to press for more urgent changes. In July 2019, London became the world’s first National Park City, which in the words of its own publicity wants “more bird song, ultimate frisbee, hill-rolling, tree climbing, cycling, hedgehogs, volunteering, sharing, outdoor play, kayaking, clean air, otters, greener streets, outdoor learning, ball games, outdoor art and hilltop dancing in the city.” Initiatives such as these are emerging that provide concrete evidence and encouragement of what is possible.

C40 is a network of 96 of the world’s major cities seeking to turn the goals of the Paris Agreement into deliverable and significant actions at the local level. Although partly being introduced as a way of assisting social distancing, major cities including Milan, Berlin, Sydney, Athens, Bogota and now London are moving determinedly to convert many roads in support of walking and cycling, reducing pollution and the impact of vehicles on neighbourhoods. London is intending to implement within 6 weeks.

It’s instructive how fast changes can be made when in other times it might have become bogged down in the planning process and consultations! As the Mayor of Athens says: “We have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and are fast-forwarding all our public works. The goal is to liberate public space from cars and give it to people who want to walk and enjoy the city … Athens will be cleaner, greener and better lit.” When people are once again able to visit these cities, they will find them re-purposed in recognition of new priorities, taken on a new look and hopefully provide a much more pleasant experience for locals and visitors alike.

Rewilding

Increasingly vital are efforts to re-wild or ‘wild more’ with the aim of restoring a better balance with and within the natural world. ‘Rewilding’ has quickly become an adopted technique for restoring old natural orders where species that were once common in an area are being brought back. In the UK, white-tailed (or sea) eagles were successfully and famously re-introduced into the Hebrides, and in 2019 young birds were also re-introduced to the Isle of Wight. 2020 has seen white storks breed for the first time in England for 600 years at the Knepp Estate, Sussex, following a re-wilding project. Beavers have been brought back to Knapdale (Argyll), the Otter Valley (Devon) and elsewhere, while pine martens have recently been reintroduced in the Forest of Dean.

There is, though, a difference between re-wilding / ‘wilding more’ and ‘re-introductions’, the latter being where efforts are made to increase the range and numbers of particular species on the back of improving the habitats in which they should be able to thrive. For instance, new populations of water voles have been released in several areas such as Kielder Forest, Exmoor, and the Meon Valley (Hampshire). Elsewhere schemes have been designed to re-establish other animals in areas where they had become extremely rare or extinct. Recently rare sand lizards were added to the local population at Eelmoor Marsh, near Farnborough.

There is scope for people to become involved in local campaigns and projects that are trying to address the global / planetary problems and allow the impact of one’s efforts to grow and thrive - and you won’t be alone! There is solidarity in being part of something that is either bigger, has traction, or joins with like-minded people in support of a shared cause. Keeping up the pressure and calling out any backsliding also seems vital to hold leaders and policy makers to account. Lobbying of political representatives and other influential people and institutions needs to continue. In the UK it will be very interesting to see what a cross section of one hundred citizens in the Climate Assembly UK come up with when they report later in 2020.

Whether any of these wide-ranging policies, commitments or actions will be sufficient is open to question. If the 2020’s are critical to stabilise CO2 emission or even roll back some of the other destructive trends, then there is not too long to find out! For now, various projects, the development of ideas and the impact of the lockdown have allowed us to peer through a window to see what a better society might look like in a way that also addresses the anxieties that stem from these crises which we all feel from time to time. Looking forward, people may come to demand greater local access to more green open spaces, free from traffic pollution and creating a neighbourhood or landscape that is not only supportive of wildlife but is good for mental wellbeing.

Responding personally

In the UK, the daily exercise ritual of lockdown culture, has not only been beneficial for physical and mental health, but also provided people with the opportunity to connect more closely with nature. The BBC Springwatch series is strongly making the connection between an appreciation of the natural world helping people to cope with COVID and lockdown.

Cycling can not only be a fun way to get around, but provides wider health benefits too!

Many have stated that just getting out and actively engaging with the natural world such as tending to a vegetable patch, creating planting schemes to attract insects, as well as joining campaign action groups can all have a positive effect. Hampshire offers many opportunities to enjoy the pleasures and wonders of nature. With rivers, meadows, lakes and the Solent coastline, Hampshire offers close proximity to water, that is known to be beneficial for our wellbeing. The county can also provide children with regular learning experiences in the outdoors such as the opportunities provided by the The Sustainability Centre in the Meon Valley or the Secrets of the Solent project, which might engender children with an enthusiasm for nature that stays with them for life.

More broadly, the following wide range of practices (in no particular order) could help with any eco- or COVID-anxieties:

‘Growing your own’ has become part of broader lifestyle changes for many (Image: Pexels)

Calculate one’s domestic and personal carbon footprint, then seek to reduce it by making decisions and changes about home energy, transport, food, consumption including fashion clothing. (Various guides are available – see below)
Reduce waste and single use plastic
Walk and/or cycle whenever practicable
Use public transport wherever practicable (although not everybody is well served!)
Reduce air travel, or if needing to take a flight, ensure you carbon offset [N.B. critics of carbon offsetting say the best way to reduce emissions from flying is to take fewer flights as it otherwise risks giving airlines a licence to keep polluting. Carbon offsets are a last resort but not a solution to the climate crisis].
Consider ‘staycations’, rather than longer haul holidays
Move to a more plant-based / meat-free diet (although plant-based milks can lead to monocultures)
Switch to green energy suppliers
Install insulation and energy saving devices
If you have your own garden, create planting schemes to attract wildlife and provide food chains
Make wildlife supporting features such as bug hotels, nest box, bird feeder, mini ponds, meadow patches
Visit nature reserves, parks or other open spaces
Enjoy the soothing or calming effect by being by water, whether a pond, canal, river or sea
Join (or even set up) a group or campaign with like-minded people (ensure they are inclusive); acting together helps us feel less powerless and can even act as a form of therapy
Support tree planting schemes, such as those encouraged by the Woodland Trust in the UK (N.B. although a widespread and common response to addressing the ongoing climate emergency, tree planting alone is not a solution. The principal factor remains reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.)
Avoid investing in fossil fuel companies via personal pensions and other investments
Consider proactively investing in green or ethical businesses
Lobby council, companies and employers to improve their climate action plans and policies
Avoid risk of feeling overwhelmed by controlling your engagement with climate-crisis information and ensure you balance it with looking at good environmental news such as rewilding successes or new renewable energy schemes
Make it fun! Celebrate success and achievements!

Conclusions

Undertaking some of these actions are not just therapeutic, but simultaneously support work for creating a better environment and building our broader resilience. It is not necessary to do any of the above in huge jumps, but moving forward in smaller, practical steps will likely bring some benefits. As one commentator has remarked: “We can’t save the world as individuals, but we can make it a tiny bit better; and perhaps save our sanity in the process.” Protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd also remind us that the changes need to be inclusive and embrace all people.

Of course, the examples of ‘green’ actions at different levels highlighted above won’t guarantee a reformed world alone, and indeed forces exist that will resist many of the changes, but they do provide a direction of travel that offers the hope of a better future. We have seen how nothing much changes for a long period and then so much changes in a short time, as if the dam is no longer able to contain the pressure, the force of ideas and a different way of doing things. Just doing small things can be seen as part of building this culture of shared understanding, practices, and new orthodoxies as well as being conducive to better mental wellbeing.

Although appealing to ‘hope’ can sometimes sound rather hollow, if it is grounded in a pool of practical strategies, solutions and opportunities, then ‘hope’ has a stronger material basis for offering the prospect of a more attractive future and a healthier planet. The current crises are pregnant with a range of favourable possibilities. There is now an opportunity to grasp them – let’s not let the chance go to waste.

Selected further reading and websites

Books

Kate Humble (2018), Thinking on My Feet: the small joy of putting one foot in front of another, Octopus Publishing Group, ISBN: 9781783253159

Emma Mitchell (2018), The Wild Remedy: how nature mends us – A diary, Michael O’Mara Books, ISBN: 9781789290424

Articles

Emma Beddington, A-Z of climate anxiety: how to avoid meltdown, The Observer, 08/12/2019

Jane Dunford, ‘Things have to change’: tourism businesses look to a greener future, The Guardian, 28/05/2020,

Roger Harrabin, Climate change: Top 10 tips to reduce carbon footprint revealed, BBC website, 20/05/2020

Hepburn, C., O’Callaghan, B., Stern, N., Stiglitz, J., and Zenghelis, D., Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?, Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Working Paper No. 20-02, 04/ 05/2020,

Phoebe Weston, The rise of eco-anxiety and how to come to terms with climate change, Independent, 22/06/2019

Rebecca Willis, 'I don't want to be seen as a zealot': what MPs really think about the climate, Long Read, The Guardian 21/05/2020

Websites

Cities C40, https://www.c40.org/

Ethex, https://www.ethex.org.uk/

London National Park City, http://www.nationalparkcity.london/

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT), https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/get-involved/looking-after-yourself-and-nature

Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC), https://www.winacc.org.uk/

Carbon footprint calculators

A number of organisations have produced carbon footprint calculators of varying sophistication, including Carbon Footprint, United Nations, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) and Sustainable Travel International.