Covid-19: Planning the Exit strategy for the postponed environmental agenda
Bob Earll 2nd April 2020
The timeline (Figure 4) (see below) in the key Imperial College paper on Covid-19 confirms what health officials routinely rehearse about the timeline of the emergency, not least because beyond the peak subsequent bursts of infection are envisaged continuing into 2021. In some ways shutting things down is the easy part of the management of this event. A much more problematic issue is what the exit strategy looks like with the relaxation of measures. Some of the timelines – such as the suggestion that Parliament may reconvene at the end of April to restart business look rather optimistic.
Not only is the COVID pandemic shredding meetings at every scale it is obliterating the environmental and climate agenda. Various environmental measures that have been suspended during the emergency. When will these hard won measures be reinstated? The concern is that they may not be. See the links below.
Insert Fig 4.
Parliamentary process comes to a halt: Environment & Agriculture Bills and Parliamentary committees.
It is likely that Parliament will move to a virtual model by the end of April
Statement: Covid-19 and the work of the House of Commons The Chairs of the Administration Committee and the Procedure Committee issued a statement on the temporary measures introduced to ensure the continuation of House of Commons business during the Covid-19 epidemic. Work is underway to see whether committee scrutiny can be undertaken remotely.
Progress on the Environment bill has been suspended until further notice https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2019-21/environment.html Some have seen a Defra letter suggesting this won’t be before the end of April; this seems very optimistic.
The UN climate talks due to be held in Glasgow later this year have been postponed as governments around the world struggle to halt the spread of coronavirus. The most important climate negotiations since the Paris agreement in 2015 were scheduled to take place this November to put countries back on track to avoid climate breakdown. They will now be pushed back to 2021.
Other environmental measures suspended – two examples – what others?
The concern is that these measures won’t be repealed and that anti-environmental lobby groups will use this as an opportunity to press to make the changes permanent.
Plastic bag tax temporarily relaxed on home delivery
Charles Clover has highlighted the decimation of the so-called super year for the oceans
https://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/2020/03/24/why-do-we-need-to-travel-to-protect-the-planet/
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