Rain Barrel Communications — Beyond COVID-19: The Climate Crisis

If this global pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can and will find the money to deal with emergencies when we need it. Let’s be real. We need much more of it to manage and get through the next one. Not less!

By Tomas Jensen

During this global pandemic and worsening socio-economic crisis, it is easy to forget that only six months ago, we felt that our world was on fire. Literally.

From Sumatra to California to Siberia to the Amazon, and then throughout Australia, decades of unabated global warming started igniting forest fires on an unprecedented scale. On every continent but Antarctica, which was busy shedding ice at a record pace.

Climate change (the phrase coined by a group of clever people determined to keep us from talking about global warming and disastrous rising temperatures) was on.

Scientists warn that extreme and costly weather events will only increase due to climate change.

Then - out of the blue - a tiny bit of protein, was all it took for the world to adopt some key blueprint changes needed to begin dealing with the climate crisis.

Almost overnight we went from mass production and consumption across the board, to the opposite. From easy and affordable travel to no travel. From socializing being a given, to being frowned upon.

The change was so drastic and so significant that it did not take long for satellites to spot how some of the world’s most polluted places were clearing up. At least in terms of air quality.

And while countries all over the world went into lock down to prevent the spread of the virus - COVID-19 - governments and the financially well-off began figuring out how to pay the bill for crashing economies and skyrocketing unemployment.

‘There will not be money for welfare in the short and medium future,’ some of them would say, while at the same time printing unbelievable amount of money to prevent a socio-economic meltdown. Indicating that the money we spend now on this crisis will reduce our investment in social welfare, development, and measures to mitigate future crises.

I am not an economist, but I can imagine what a world we would be living in today if we had spent that money over the last many decades on establishing solid health and education systems and opportunities for all. How differently would we have responded to this pandemic with a globally well-educated population and well-resourced health facilities with proper protective and lifesaving equipment in every corner of our world?

The point here of course is that they were ideologically driven choices that led us to starve and brutalize our world and civilization to the point of a collective weak immune defense against the visually tiniest of threats – the coronavirus.

Just like it is and will be ideology and choice that will propel us forward, out of this mess, and into to the next emergency. Let me call it the CLImate EMergency of 2022 (CLIEM-22).

No, I am not a prophet, but if evidence still matters, then it seems certain that global temperatures will keep rising and that the fires will be back with even greater intensity and impact. And our response will continue to falter if we continue to respond with a zero-sum poverty mentality where there is less, not more money for sustainable development and living.

If we can print trillions of dollars to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, then surely, we can also print trillions of dollars more to effectively build systems and a world where we all get a good education. Where we all can get the health services and nutrition we need to thrive. Where our energy mix and consumption patterns become sustainable and protect and nurture the biodiversity that our very existence depends upon.

While we deal with COVID-19, let us look beyond our important but very reactive and short-term response to the pandemic. Focus on health systems that are equipped to deal with new and emerging diseases – not be overwhelmed by them. On social services that can always offer financial and mental health support in times of struggle and with agility. On sustainable water and sanitation systems that are accessible for – and benefit all. On education systems that help us innovate and mitigate global warming, reduce environmental degradation, and stop the sixth great extinction of species now well underway.

Yes, it will cost money and if this global pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can and will find the money when we need it. Let’s be real. We need much more of it to manage and get through the next global emergency. Not less!

Of course, I am aware that printing money comes with a great set of risks and challenges, and that these risks must be managed and mitigated as well. Just like the pandemic.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was born in Denmark, a country with a population that favors collectivism over individualism. That is not synonymous with communism or socialism, nor does it rule out the idea of capitalism. Danes generally work together to get the best out of life for all, while agreeing that the rights of the individual are best preserved in a society that is inclusive and cohesive.

Quantitative easing (which includes printing more money) can only work for all, if there is a clear and shared vision and purpose – and if real effort and regulations are being made to invest the new money into sustainable initiatives that reach and include more poor people. That is what we need good governance for! Globally and locally. To help kickstart, regulate and distribute our common goods in the interest of all.

Tomas Jensen is a Director of Rain Barrel Communications and he is based in Cairns, Australia.