Featured by Loud and Clear's platform, June 2020. Image Credit: @tickover
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Shops are open now, and suddenly it feels like a happy return to normality. But is normal what we want to return to? Lockdown has given us a time to reflect, and so coming out of it should be the perfect time to make a real difference in our consumption habits.
Listening to Mikeala Loach and Jo Becker's The Yikes Podcast episode on Ecofascicm and the Coronavirus (available on all podcast platforms), it becomes apparent to how damaging views such as ‘mother nature cleansing herself’ can actually be. Earth was never ‘healing’ from people, primarily in the most marginalised and poorest socio-economic communities, dying. It was ‘healing’ from the slowdown in capitalism and production. China’s emissions may have fallen for a short while, but according to Lauri Myllyvirta from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air , energy usage, air pollution levels and carbon emissions had begun to increase again
by the end of March. This is while in the US, Trump has pulled out of (or is in the process of pulling out of) 100 environmental schemes during his presidency. We can post our joy about decreasing emissions and animals reclaiming cities, but when will we start demanding that governments do something? A global pandemic is not a planet saviour- we need to see policies implemented to actually help with the climate emergency.
With the spread of the Coronavirus, governments have shown that in an emergency they can reallocate resources and makes changes- so why haven’t the
y done this for climate crisis which has been looming for many years. Lack of budget is no excuse, especially when some of the biggest contributors to emissions pay virtually zero tax. In fact, in 2017 BP paid no tax and instead received £134million in government handouts, even though according to the Climate Accountability Institute it was the 6th biggest carbon and methane emitter. BP now says it is committing more than ever to its sustainability with aims to reach net-zero carbon by 2050 or sooner and invest in renewable energy; we can only hope the government works to realise investment in these schemes as an asset and the future of the industry and society at large. But can oil and gas companies ever be sustainable considering what they inherently are?
This should make us mad. There is no need for governments to focus so much on profit when the planet is at stake. And not just the planet but human lives. I’m sure many have heard that 71% of global emissions are caused by just the top 100 companies (which are often based in western countries, yet the people of the global south are the ones who have to suffer. Due to climate change and the natural disasters it causes, countless people are displaced and become refugees. Their land becomes uninhabitable and they leave only to be hit with anti-immigration policies from the countries who caused this problem in the first place. Natural disasters such as floods in the Philippines and severe drought in Afghanistan in 2018, not to mention the ongoing famine in Yemen and plenty of other humanitarian crises, have displaced millions of families and destroyed livelihoods. Western privilege means we are unlikely to suffer the consequences of our governments' actions (or lack thereof). As sustainability remains on the back burner, climate change is propelled and these disasters can continue to happen.
Another dangerous consequence is that the current Tory government, which refused to participate in 3 PPE schemes despite NHS shortages (principally caused by austerity measures), and instead put forward ‘a weekly applause’, has released some necessary restrictions. It seems as though the government's lack of seriousness regarding the virus, seen especially after the refusal to sack Dominic Cummings after his blatant disregard of lockdown rules, has normalised the virus. The UK has the highest death rate from Covid-19 after the US, and people will continue to lose their lives if the government disregards these statistics and continues lowering restrictions. (By contrast, New Zealand, which had stronger lockdown measures, is now free of the virus.)
With stores now opening and street-long queues filling the streets, this is not just a public health problem as social distancing becomes harder to follow, but also shows how habits haven’t changed. Whilst many people cannot afford to shop sustainably and aren't afforded the same accessibility to information surrounding fashion's impacts on the planet, the same people who shared images of clear waters in Venice at the start of lockdown have gone straight back to shopping at the very brands which cause the pollution they were raving about decreasing. Fashion desperately needs to stop greenwashing, whilst all consumers can do is take a second to think about the brand they are buying from before giving them their money, and consider whether the purchase is necessary in the first place. Buying clothing second-hand, such as from charity shops or on Depop can help, but for those without access who need to buy first hand, there are ways to look up the brand's ethics and its commitment to sustainability (for example through the Good On You app where it is all researched for you). As consumers we often have the opportunity to choose where we put our money, and so let's keep up the energy for clear skies and waters now that lockdown has eased. By thinking about our actions and critiquing the government and brands' lack of regulations on sustainability, we can start to make better choices for the planet and for ourselves.
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