From China to Greta Thunberg, the coronavirus is held up as a climate wake-up call

Leaders and activists see the emergence from the pandemic as an opportunity for a ‘green recovery’

But there is tension between governments’ carbon neutral goals and fossil fuel-powered production

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The combined effect of pandemic lockdowns in 123 countries led to a 30 per cent decline in carbon dioxide emissions in April, according to a recent study. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 10:00pm, 18 Oct 2020Updated: 10:52pm, 18 Oct 2020

In China, 17-year-old environmental activist Ou Hongyi staged a silent protest on the streets of Shanghai at the end of last month and brought along a new poster: “There is no vaccine for the climate crisis”.

She took her cue from Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage environmentalist, who earlier this year said the response to the Covid-19 pandemic showed how world authorities could act during emergencies. But now this needed to be repeated to tackle the economic and livelihood threats posed by carbon emissions and a heating climate, Thunberg said.

Chines climate activist Ou Hongyi. Photo: Twitter

This theme is not just activists talking, it is also finding voice in the corridors of international power. From the United Nations to Beijing and Europe, discussions have picked up about a post-pandemic economic “green recovery”, or one less dependent on burning fossil fuels for energy.

Speaking at a TEDx event on October 10, UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said: “The upheaval of this pandemic presents an opportunity to chart a new course, one that can address every aspect of the climate crisis head-on.”

A week after promising China would be carbon neutral by 2060, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his speech at the UN Summit on Biodiversity on September 30 that Covid-19 “reminds us of the interdependence between man and nature”.