“Climate change as the single most serious problem facing the world – despite the Covid-19 pandemic.”
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There are still influential political voices who are ‘sceptical’ about climate change:
Ron Johnson: Climate change is ‘bulls—‘ | TheHill
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And yet it is very much out there – with an extraordinary piece from today’s USA Today, showing “eye-opening images of what climate change has done and could do to our world”:
Climate change: Images offer present and future views of our world
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In the US, with the dramatic pictures coming out of the North-West, the effects of unpredictable climate change is being measured in terms of cost to human health:
Climate change is the biggest health threat of this century
The effects of climate change, such as changes in precipitation patterns, more intense droughts and heatwaves, sea-level rise and stronger hurricanes, will impact human health with increasing force, affecting people all over the globe. In the United States alone, the health costs of climate change and air pollution currently surpass 800 billion US dollars a year and are destined to continue rising, according to the report released earlier this year The Costs of Inaction.
The Pan American Health Organisation defines deaths, diseases and injuries caused by extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, tornadoes, floods and hurricanes as the direct impacts of climate change on human health. These are felt with varying intensity depending on people’s age, gender, health and socioeconomic status, and place of residence…
Climate change is the biggest health threat of this century – LifeGate
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It seems, then, that it is climate change, and not Covid, which poses more of a threat to human health longer term.
And in Europe, people see tackling the issue as the priority:
Climate change tops Covid as Europeans’ biggest issue
A new survey on Monday (5 July) reveals that for the first time European citizens consider climate change as the single most serious problem facing the world – despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of Europeans say that national governments, business and industry and the EU institutions are responsible for tackling climate change within the 27-nation bloc – with three-quarters of respondents saying that their own government is not doing enough.
Most people consider that the pandemic recovery fund should mainly be invested in renewables and green technologies, rather than in the traditional fossil-fuel economy…
Climate change tops Covid as Europeans’ biggest issue
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Meanwhile, the effects of climate change on our long-term health is being widely reported, as with these pieces from this week’s media:
Research aims to examine ‘compounding’ health effects of climate change | The Spokesman-Review
Climate change: The elephant in the waiting room of health –
The Climate Crisis Is A Public Health Crisis : Short Wave : NPR