A strong connection exists between human health and the health of our planet’s ecosystems. As human pressures on the climate and biosphere accelerate, patterns of disease outbreak and channels of human exposure expand. More than ever, our ability to prevent disease and mitigate its impacts depends on our ability to scale up action on the environment and avoid breaches of ecological boundaries.

COVID-19 for example is most likely a zoonotic disease, a disease passed from animals to humans. As pressures have intensified on natural ecosystems and wildlife, the channels of viral outbreak have also grown, as also seen in outbreaks of other zoonotic diseases such as Ebola, SARS and MERS in recent years. Furthermore, COVID-19 impacts are exacerbated for those suffering underlying respiratory conditions. Air pollution today kills more than seven million people worldwide every year - a pandemic in its own right with greater loss of life than many diseases and wars. Accelerating levels of pollution are a threat to both people and planet, making people less able to cope with viral pandemics such as COVID-19 and other outbreaks.

The risks from converging crises of ecological change and health pandemics are particularly critical for countries already facing multiple drivers of fragility. The Arab States region is a global climate hotspot, with temperatures rising faster than the world average, while also being the world’s most water scarce and food important dependent region. After a series of devastating conflicts in recent decades, millions of refugees and internally displaced peoples struggle to meet daily needs across the region, while the capacity of health and other public systems have been seriously impacted in conflict-affected countries. As countries across the region scale up responses to COVID-19, an opportunity exists to achieve synergies with actions on climate change and ecosystem resilience.

First, social distancing has dramatically reduced mobility, travel, consumption of goods and services, and thus energy use. But once the pandemic is over, normal social and economic life will resume and levels of energy use will rise again. Countries across the region have made significant efforts in recent years to shift beyond oil and towards sustainable energy solutions. UNDP and partners recently issued the 2019 Arab Future Energy Index (AFEX) report which highlights these trends, with solar and wind capacity across the region having seen a ten-fold growth over the past decade and a doubling in just the last two years. Read the whole article following the link above