Biofore Magazine 2020

BIG PICTURE

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Larissa Copello says that in the long-term, governments need to invest in city-scale zero-waste systems that build circular economies at the local level, require much less capital, and create multiple social impacts. Combinedwith educational programmes and community in- volvement, these systems could greatly reduce the amount of disposed waste, thus avoiding serious environmental harm fromwaste disposal and incineration. Moreover, the pandemic has made it clear just how vulnerable our systemis nowand howour currentmethods of treating the environment – driven by unsustainable consumption and produc- tion models – will lead to more pandemics in the future. Therefore, any future policies must be geared towards ensuring a green and just economic recovery that addresses environmental challenges and en- sures resilience when the next global crisis strikes. Definitive moment for change? It is still unclear whether the status quo has definitively changed for either producers or consumers, but maybe there is now an impetus to push sustainability developments forward. “I don’t see 2021 or 2022 as a sort of huge breakthrough where we look back and say that everything changed, but I think it will be a step- ping-stone towards a smarter supply side dynamic,” Beck concludes. What is clear, though, is that when an urgent crisis appears, access to billions can be found – as the financial response by EU Member States and governments across the world to the pandemic shows. “The interlinked crises that challenge our natural environment to- day, from climate change to biodiversity loss, provide an existential threat to human life and society. The world can no longer afford not to act,” says Copello.

“The interlinked crises that challenge our natural environment today provide an existential threat to human life and society. The world can no longer afford not to act.”