Economic and Environmental Impacts of Coronavirus Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has very badly affected the global economy. It is a general view that global economy has nothing as such to do with the ecology or the environment. However, it is a hard fact that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our fight against climate change has a direct link with the economy or economic condition of a nation. In fact, economy cannot be viewed independently, in total isolation of SDGs and our efforts towards mitigation of climate change. Therefore, discussion on the effects of COVID-19 on global economy and world environment will indeed be instructive and rewarding.

- Dr Pradeep Kumar Mukherjee

The present pandemic, due to the novel coronavirus that has spread its tentacles the world over, is being regarded as the most current global health calamity of the century and the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced after the World War II. COVID-19 has rapidly spread around the world, posing enormous health, economic, environmental and social challenges to the entire human civilization. Loss of lives due to any pandemic causes definite irretrievable damage to the society. But, apart from this, COVID-19 has severely demobilized the global economy. This is primarily due to the (partial or complete) lockdown imposed by most of the affected countries in order to restrict further transmission of the disease in the community. As a result, major international flights and also all types of business transports between different countries had been stalled. Also, all domestic flights, railroad services (except goods-trains), movement of buses, trucks and vehicular transport had been suspended, of course with special exemption to those associated with the transport of essential commodities. In almost all the COVID-19 stricken countries, all educational, sports, spiritual institutions, commercial activities including those concerned with recreation and entertainment, and places of worship are closed. So are the industries, which actually are suffering a lot as many of these (excepting those related to essential amenities) are closed in many countries. People belonging to tourism and transportation industry are also facing utmost difficulties and problems.