How COVID-19 protocols can propagate social discrimination in India

Source: Down to Earth

Relevance: To learn about the climate crisis and lessons from Covid-19 to avert it.

Synopsis: Covid-19 has brought many changes in people’s behaviour. Similar such behaviour is needed to avert the climate crisis.

Population and Climate crisis 

• The pressure of the rising population is designated as a significant contributing factor to the climate crisis. Earth can sustain only a fraction of the present world population’s consumptive demand
• Population pressure, along with energy and resource-intensive lifestyles, is acting as a major cause of climate change.
• This will induce crises like health issues, economic issues and other issues.
• However, it is unethical to impose the pressure of costly lifestyles of western people up on the people in developing countries.

Covid-19 and Climate crisis

• The outbreak of COVID-19 in the human population is rightfully denoted as a prime example of environmental imbalance affecting human health.
• A direct link between environmental imbalances and health emergencies is likely to give rise to the medicalisation of the climate crisis. 

Few important changes brought by COVID-19

• Medicalization of death: This includes distancing of the dead body, bureaucratic restrictions imposed on conducting the last rites, etc.
• Medicalization of social experiences: This includes Covid appropriate behaviour, Social distancing norms, etc.

Suggestions:

Numerous initiatives like the half-earth project, neo-Malthusianism, United Nations Agenda 21 showcase the need to contain or reduce the growing population especially the global South population.

On many occasions, experts have highlighted that our capability to manage COVID-19 demonstrates our future capability to manage climate change. Many experts argue to announce climate change as a health emergency. It is time for global nations to consider that seriously.