Covid-19 has pushed climate change off the front pages, and the economic downturn resulting from restrictions imposed in response to the pandemic might well continue to draw attention away from it for months ahead.
But climate change is not becoming less urgent. And the pandemic highlights two persistent political problems in addressing climate change: first, political agendas struggle to focus on long-term and emerging threats (in the case of Covid-19, even planning a few weeks ahead seems beyond many politicians); second, economic damage easily becomes an argument to avoid action to protect public health or enhance social justice.
Meanwhile Donald Trump touts hydroxychloroquine as a miracle fix for victims of COVID-19, presumably to distract from his own role in the unfolding catastrophe. Sadly, a search for just such a ‘fix’ for climate change is gathering momentum amongst certain scientists, political activists and media commentators.
