Only ecology-based economies can avoid future catastrophe

Much has been made of the brief respite in carbon emissions thatcoronavirus给了世界。但是，让我们不要太兴奋。

好处充其量是暂时的。实际上，它们是红鲱鱼。一旦病毒消退，就会发生一场比赛以修复全球经济 - 国家和集团将被试图妥协对需要数十年才能实现的气候目标妥协。

我们的文明对生态界限和破坏栖息地的无情破坏使诸如covid-19之类的大流行者几乎不可避免。早在2007年，世界卫生组织警告不断扩大的城市化，反微生物抵抗和climate changewere creating a perfect storm that would drive up the threat from emerging infectious diseases.

如果我们要避免未来大流行病和气候灾难的最坏结果，我们需要剧烈的行动。

Faced with COVID-19’s dire economic impacts, we may wonder whether we can afford to fight this battle on two fronts. But there is no vaccine for climate change after the planet warms beyond 2 degrees Celsius — the ‘point of no return’.

So far, economic recovery programmes rushed through by lawmakers have been focused on a band-aid approach. That is necessary to protect the most vulnerable. But to guarantee that there is an economy to return to when we bring COVID-19 under control, we need to rebuild it on a footing that can create jobs and opportunities — and all within planetary boundaries.

“In taking this approach, Western countries would find that instead of a world of competing economies where rampant protectionism drives unsustainable industrial expansion, the post-COVID-19 economy could be based on an ecological approach.”

Fazlun Khalid, advisor to the United Nations on environment and faith

我们需要刺激清洁的工业革命。

This is a historic opportunity to ensure that ‘helicopter money’ is tied to real assets — helping us recover, while simultaneously averting the next great global crisis.

In some cases, this will mean leaving old industries behind. In others, it will mean transforming them. In all cases, we will need collaborative approaches to tackle the top three drivers of climate change.

Fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation

首先必须将万亿美元的化石燃料补贴转移到可再生能源部门。

The temptation, as we have seen with President Donald Trump, may be to bail out flailing oil, gas and coal sectors as demand flattens. But how long for? Societies require a resilient energy base that can sustain jobs. That means pouring trillions into solar, wind and geothermal, as well as research and development for other exciting technologies, such as hydrogen.

Agriculture is the second biggest climate driver. While supermarket supply chains come under extraordinary strain due to panic-buying, the immediate impact of COVID-19 on reducing farm labour puts production at risk.

beplay下载官网西西软件农业也是最大的碳发射器之一，具有大量的化石燃料投入，涉及制造农药和肥料，以及加工，包装和分配。

“我们需要刺激清洁的工业革命。”

Fazlun Khalid, advisor to the United Nations on environment and faith

These漏洞可以通过过渡到更具弹性，本地和城市农业生态农业，生产能量和水的食物，并且离消费者更近。

The third biggest driver of climate change is deforestation, linked to the soy, beef, palm oil industries and beyond.

New policies to avoid disaster

Prior to COVID-19, alarm about deforestation has translated into contradictory policies: the European Union banning palm oil for biodiesel while seeking deals to import soy and beef from South America, where production causes even greater levels of deforestation. Scientists warn that piecemeal action such as boycotts forces consumers to switch to other commodities that are far more land-intensive.

Instead of bans and boycotts, a post-COVID19 economic shift requires incentivising the rapid growth of sustainable production.

Palm oil producer Malaysia, for instance, has introduced the world’s first government-backed mandatory regulations for 100 per cent sustainable palm oil. Such efforts should be rewarded, while deals with recalcitrant actors such as Brazil should be reconsidered.

The COVID-19 pandemic might thus spur America, Europe and Asia to find common ground on an inclusive global economic programme. South American sustainable soy would contribute to sustainable Europeanfarming. Malaysian sustainable palm oil would help fuel the EU’s clean transport revolution. The US and EU can supply these emerging markets with technology integrating clean energy with Big Data to speed the emergence of smart grids.

在采取这种方法时，西方国家会发现，越来越多的贸易保护主义推动了不可持续的工业扩张，而不是一个竞争经济的世界，而是基于对市场的生态学方法：自由和开放，同时在受到生态学方面的基础，同时在为公民，公共和绿色商品和服务做出贡献的道德目的。