With carbon emissions falling and air quality improving during lockdown, we look at the impact the coronavirus crisis has had on the environment and how this will affect our future.

Whether it’s relaxing in your garden or finding a new walk in your area, the lockdown of the last few months has led many of us to spend more time in nature than ever before.

At the same time, there have been all sorts of reports of wildlife reappearing in places they’ve not been seen in for years, waters running clear and skies turning brighter as a result of less human contact. But as we start to move back to some level of normality, how do we make sure these changes aren’t lost?

Over the past few years, environmentalists and campaigners including the likes of Greta Thunberg and Sir David Attenborough have been working tirelessly to encourage governments and communities all over the world to improve their environmental policy and take action against the rising temperature of our planet.

Since the global start of lockdown, us humans being have been using our cars and means of transport far less and as a result, scientist have been recording a number of positive environmental changes around the world, sparking the start of the #NoGoingBack campaign.

The campaign is based on the idea that once we’re out of lockdown and we begin to get back to normality, governments should all make the effort to ensure their countries don’t return to their old ways.

Read more: David Attenborough through the years

Air quality in lockdown

One of the most remarkable changes since the start of lockdown is the quality of our air in the UK and Europe. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the falls in road traffic and industrial emissions has resulted in 6,000 fewer children developing asthma and 600 fewer preterm births.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide and tiny particulate matter, which both weaken the heart and respiratory system have also fallen. These forms of pollution are usually responsible for around a shocking 470,000 deaths per year in Europe alone and according to expert calculations from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, it’s likely that around 11,000 deaths have been avoided as a result of the improved quality of air in our atmosphere.

The reason these levels of pollution are falling is because we aren’t travelling as much any more. And according to Kimberley Nicholas, Associate Professor from Lund University, one of the biggest polluters that we no longer use are planes.

“Flying is the fastest way to heat the climate so all the flights that are being reduced are saving a lot of carbon pollution.”

The last time our planet saw a temporary fall in the levels of carbon emissions was back in 2008 following the global financial crisis. However, as countries soon began to build up their economies, emissions increased.

As rebuilding the economy of course becomes a priority in the recovery from the pandemic, CPRE’s Crispin Truman says saving nature doesn’t have to come at a detrimental cost to the economy – it could even help boost it.

“As we rebuild the economy we need to think more long-term. We shouldn’t rush into investing in car manufacturers and airline companies, but instead look at lower carbon alternatives to these things, of which there are many,” says Crispin.

“Local transport, local businesses and local food production have a lower carbon footprint, reducing the effect on climate change, and are generally quite labour-intensive, creating a lot more jobs for people than carbon-intensive industries which use huge polluting factories and just a few workers.”

There’s also the issue of agriculture to be addressed, he says, changing the rules so that farmers are given financial rewards for putting nature into recovery rather than for taking actions that harm it.

Water pollution

Perhaps the most astounding change to the environment has been seen in Venice. The Italian city that sits on the canal is usually used to welcoming some 20 million tourists per year. Once Italy went into lockdown, tourists were obviously no longer allowed there and as a result, the canal has become clearer and the fish are now visible.

“The water now looks clearer because there is less traffic on the canals, allowing the sediment to stay at the bottom,” a spokesman the Venice mayor’s office told CNN.

Wildlife

Another major change has also been seen in the world of wildlife with Coyotes (usually frightened of traffic) spotted on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Deer grazing near Washington, just a few miles from the White House, Wild boar sighted in Barcelona and Bergamo, peacocks in Bangor and goats through Llandudno.

Nature campaigner Craig Bennett from the Wildlife Trust says that while it’s hard to tell in just a few months the impact of the pandemic on wildlife numbers, one thing that’s definitely changed is people’s appreciation and will to care for nature.

“I think more of us have had time to stop and notice nature and have realised just how important it is in our lives.”

What’s crucial now, he says, is that we all hold on to that feeling to drive change. “We must act fast to ensure we don’t just go back to how things were before.”

What this means for Craig is pushing policymakers to put wildlife at the heart of everything by using the shift in the public mindset to lobby the government. “Before the pandemic, nature was perhaps considered a separate issue to things such as the economy, health policy, education and transport. I think one of the best things we can do is reframe this is to talk about how nature underpins everything from food and energy, to health,” he says. “We need to have nature deeply embedded in policies around education, transport and the economy, realising that one can help the other.”

For example, investing in better cycle lanes and footpaths reduces traffic. Planting green nature reserves will absorb harmful emissions and cut air pollution, which in turn improves our health and reduces the burden on the NHS. Nature is the solution to a health and economic problem. “By seeing nature as integral to achieving these other objectives, it’s easier to get money put behind it, too,” says Craig.

Putting nature back at the centre

One of Craig and Crispin’s objectives is to make sure everyone across the country has better access to nature.

“Restoring our natural world has to be about much more than just conservation projects and nature reserves,” Craig says. “We need to put nature back into our lives everywhere and that means making the green belt properly green and bringing the natural world into every part of life. The science says we need to give over at least 30 per cent of Britain to nature for it to ever recover from the declines of the last century.”

And of course by allowing nature to flourish, there are more homes for wildlife and less pollution, with nature being accessed locally rather than people travelling to beauty spots such as the Lakes or Snowdonia.

Crispin agrees, adding that ensuring everyone has access to nature is the best way of making them want to care for it. To achieve this, he says, the government must preserve the existing natural spaces for people living in towns and cities. “We have to stop trading off the countryside against other social benefits. There are a million homes’ worth of brownfield sites in Britain which could be used for building houses, but at the moment it’s cheaper for developers to build on green spaces and that has to stop.”

Tackling deforestation

In the news recently, it was announced that Tesco is working alongside insect farming company Entocycle to protect the world's forests.

The idea behind it is to produce high quality feed for farm animals with insects, to reduce the pressure on land being cleared for crops or grazing.

'In addition to being home to precious wildlife, the world's forests play a critical role in our everyday lives,' explains Dr Emma Keller, Head of Food Commodities at WWF. 'They play a key role in climate regulation, storing huge amounts of carbon in the trees and soil. And of course forests are home to indigenous people who depend on them for their homes and livelihoods.'

This time-lapse footage of satellite images shows the extent of the damage already done to the Amazon rainforest and Madagascar.

What can we do?

It just shows how the effects of climate change can be reversed in such a short space of time. Imagine how much the environment would change if we carried on producing less harmful emissions!

Going forward, the single biggest thing we can do to limit our contribution to pollution is to consider and limit how much we fly and drive our cars. So whether that means swapping your summer holiday in Spain for a week sunbathing in your garden here or opting for a British seaside resort instead of flying abroad, there are a lot of ways we can limit our travel for the sake of the environment.

You can also...

To become a member of the Wildlife Trust call 01636 677711 or visit[ www.wildlifetrusts.org](www.wildlifetrusts.orgusts.org)

To become a member of CPRE call 0207 981 2800 or visit www.cpre.org.uk

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