This is the self-preservation society — the need for new perspectives and values

It’s difficult to pull a positive from a global pandemic — but there is one — and it’s transformative. For decades we’ve been tinkering at the edges of global challenges. Small victories are heralded as harbingers of change, and low volume projects are held up as evidence of progress. Any victory is important, but the pace is glacial.

The narrative has been consistent — the global juggernaut turns slowly and substantive change will only ever happen over decades. The accepted wisdom is that we have to be patient, to wait and to be content with each tiny tug on the wheel. We see it played out across issues such as renewable energy, water poverty and corporate sustainability.

It’s an orthodoxy of thought that has long gone unquestioned — but 2020 has exploded the myth.

The Covid spring

In a single season, concerted effort driven by a collective sense of self-preservation saw the global juggernaut execute the equivalent of a screeching handbrake turn. Economies, transport systems, working patterns — and a host of other activities we had assumed were immutable — suddenly shifted. The immovable object of the world economy hit the unstoppable force of a global pandemic.

It saw change on an unprecedented scale. While not yet solely attributable to Covid-19 actions, global lockdowns coincided with significant decreases in pollution levels. In India, Vembanad Lake showed an increase in water quality with a decrease in suspended particulate matter (SPM) — down by close to 16%[1]. Coal consumption plummeted by 40% in six of China’s biggest power stations. In London[2], New York[3] and Delhi[4], the spring witnessed nitrogen dioxide level falls of 60%, 51% and 60% respectively — which gave many city dwellers their first sight of the stars in decades.

To be clear, I am certainly not advocating global industrial shutdown as an ongoing strategy. If nothing else, putting the global economy into hibernation is unsustainable, leaving millions of people and businesses hanging by a thread. That’s not a future I want to see. What the Covid spring does show us, however, is that change is possible — at speed and at scale.

Time to pivot — time to go big

Pandemic has demonstrated the power of concerted action. To date, the accepted way to move the world to a sustainable future has been to take baby steps. It has meant that charities, non-profits and socially responsible corporations showcase really great work based on the ‘start small and gradually scale’ model — but is there any evidence to show this is effective? I can see lots of smaller initiatives, but scaling is barely perceptible.

What we do have, however, is empirical evidence on the alternative ‘go big’ model. Covid-19 shows us that an idea (in this case, human self-preservation) combined with intention (coordinated global action) can have immediate and massive impact.

My area of area of expertise is water poverty and providing clean, sustainable sources to communities around the world. We have ‘gone big’ in partnership with Carlsberg Group, where we will bring sustainable water resources to tens of thousands of people in West Bengal. I truly believe that now is the time to start rolling out these transformational technologies on a grand scale. Let’s follow our response to Covid-19 — and make a real difference for hundreds of millions of people.

Perspective

As well as new models, Covid-19 has also brought us an opportunity to step back and re-evaluate our motivations.

The world has galvanised around a single issue driven by a million deaths in just a few months. We can now see, however, that there are other threats that are just as lethal and immediate. WHO estimates, for example, that contaminated drinking water causes 485,000 diarrhoeal deaths alone each year. It also predicts that half the world’s population will be living in water stressed areas within five years, so the problem is only going to get worse — and quickly [5].

If the world can take decisive action around the pandemic, it follows that it is equally able to take decisive action on its many other existential challenges.

As everything began to change in the spring, many people started questioning the value and costs we attach to commodities — and even what a commodity is. We have begun to think about what’s really important. If we can cut transport emissions today, why can’t we cut them tomorrow? If we can slash water usage in the fashion industry in April, why not in every month? If scientists can cooperate across borders this year, why not next?

We can take this further. Is drinkable water more desirable than a cheap pair of jeans? Is breathable air more valuable than attendance at an international conference? Are trade tariffs more important than global health?

Essentially, what value do we place on a view of the stars?

The self-preservation society

Pandemic has brought the reality of continued human existence sharply and rapidly into focus. My hope is that it also concentrates our sense of self-preservation. Our response is promising but must be translated across other existential threats if it is do us any lasting good. We must also hope that we have the time to learn and apply the lesson.

There is a cult British film called ‘The Italian Job’, which ends with its protagonist teetering precariously on the edge of a cliff — with greed tempting him to take terrifying risks. As the closing credits roll, the audience is left wondering if he lives or dies, while singers croon, “This is the self-preservation society”.

As we say goodbye to 2020, could there be a better metaphor?

[ 1 ] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720325298
[ 2 ] https://airqualitynews.com/2020/04/24/london-sees-dramatic-fall-in-no2-since-coronavirus-lockdown/#:~:text=Levels%20of%20nitrogen%20dioxide%20(NO2,by%20the%20Mayor%20of%20London.&text=However%2C%20the%20reduction%20in%20NO2,been%20uniform%20throughout%20the%20day.
[ 3 ] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7314691/
[ 4 ] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72271-5
[ 5 ] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water#:~:text=Contaminated%20water%20can%20transmit%20diseases,000%20diarrhoeal%20deaths%20each%20year.