Ecosystem recovery, the reduction of greenhouse gases and the reduction of illegal wildlife trafficking are some of the environmental benefits that this pandemic has left to date. The coronavirus pandemic has paradoxically brought a respite to the planet. Industrial paralysis in countries like China, a reduction in the number and frequency of flights between destinations, as well as in internal vehicle traffic and the forced confinement of thousands of people in several cities around the world, have led to a reduction in the level of greenhouse gas emissions.
While the relief will be momentary and will not solve the existing climate crisis in the background, as Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, has pointed out, the truth is that the coronavirus has left the environment with good news.
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The quarantine in which some countries like Italy find themselves has made the streets remain alone, and has led to the return of animals. In Venice, the water on the canals is much clearer due to the lack of tourists and gondolas traffic. Their calm has allowed the cardments of fish of various species to come out of their hideouts. In addition, it has increased the number of swans running through the pipes.
There are fears, however, that the measures taken by authorities and factories to stimulate the economy and the return of workers to factories will once again increase polluting emissions above historical averages in their quest for financial recovery.
Despite this, the impact of the coronavirus on nature seems to be due to factors such as the cancellation of commercial flights between EU countries and the United States. Five percent of the world's pollution is from airplane flights. The Lufthansa airline group reported, for example, the cancellation of 7,100 flights until the end of March due to the drop in demand for the spread of the pandemic. The largest percentage of these trips were to Germany, northern Italy and Israel, because the latter nation banned travelers from Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
Lufthansa is part of the airline group, together with Swiss Swiss and Austrian Austrian Airlines, which also cancelled their flights to China until 24 April. Additionally, trips to Hong Kong and South Korea are suspended. On the other hand, American Airlines announced a few days ago that it would suspend its daily flights from New York and Miami to Milan, due to reduced demand. Ryanair, British Airways, Latam and TAP have also announced cancellations on their trips, especially to Italy.
An aircraft travelling between Madrid and New York is estimated to emit between 2 and 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger, which means whether the aircraft carries between 150 and 300 passengers, the pollution would be between 900 and 1,350 tons. China's temporary ban on wildlife trade to combat coronavirus has become the lifeline for many endangered animals, given that China traditionally likes products based on species deemed exotic.
That's why in that nation you can find everything from bat soups, tiger testicles or parts of the palm civet's body, to fried cobra and stew bear leg. And it's that according to Chinese idiosyncrasies, this kind of food is considered a privilege, delicacy. Others use them as traditional medicine (pangolins) regardless of the degree of vulnerability they find themselves on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list and whether or not they can pose a risk to public health.
Against this backdrop, the bill to ban both the consumption and trafficking of wild animals that it undertakes in the Chinese Parliament Committee could be its blessing.
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