drastic change
in
The lockdown period has witnessed
the environment
Greenery has been restored and pollution
controlled to
certain extent Write
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the refreshed enuironment
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| No, the lockdown is not a green moment
A bird flies over the Yamuna near the Rajghat Termal Power Station in New Delhi on April 7, 2020.
A bird flies over the Yamuna near the Rajghat Termal Power Station in New Delhi on April 7, 2020. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena
Tejal Kanitkar
Aravindhan Nagarajan
22 MAY 2020 02:15 IST
UPDATED: 22 MAY 2020 02:15 IST
COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown underscore the fact that equity has to be fundamental to improving the environment and is central to any vision of sustainable development.
On March 24, a nationwide lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister of India to contain the spread of COVID-19. A consequent halt to a significant proportion of economic activity, for close to 30 days now, has led to reduced pollution and an improvement in environmental indicators across the country. The Ganga, for example, has better quality water now, than it has seen in decades. The Air Quality Index (AQI) across major cities has improved, particularly due to a reduction in NOx and PM2.5 from vehicles. There have been increased sightings of fauna in and around cities. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — mainly CO2 emissions from industrial activity — have reduced.
These environmental benefits are a result of stopping (or slowing down) of industrial and economic activity and not of proactive action for pollution control or climate change mitigation. However, in the Indian context, they have been used to make at least three claims on industrial activity and the environment. The first claim is that a drastic halt of industrial activity is exactly what is required to address climate change. The second is that economic growth and industrial activity cannot offer a way out of such a crisis. The third is that this is a moment to pause and opt for a path of degrowth. These arguments are not new and have been around much before COVID-19 hit Indian shores. The pandemic just seems to have lent more voice to them. However, these arguments miss the actual lessons we should learn from our experience of the pandemic.