Abstract
Non-technical summaryTo decrease the negative impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on human health, governments have implemented wide-ranging control measures. Moreover, they were urged to tackle a new challenge in energy policies to supply a new form of demand derived from new lifestyles of citizens and different energy consumption patterns. This article investigates the impacts of these changes on climate change and human health (due to air pollution) as a challenge for both citizens and governments in four countries: Colombia, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal.Technical summaryThe emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with global challenges in both energy supply and demand. Numerous articles have discussed the potential benefits of COVID-19 for our planet to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants. By bringing the emissions from the energy production together with the air quality indicators, this article studies the impact on climate change and human health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the consequent changes in energy policies of governments as well as lifestyles in different societies. This study shows that in spite of having a reduction, the GHG emissions might go back to previous or higher levels if governments do not see this pandemic as an opportunity to promote the use of renewable energies, which are becoming cheaper than non-renewables. Additionally, lower energy demand and less anthropogenic activities do not necessarily result in lower GHG emissions from energy production. Our results highlight the need for revising the policies and decisions of both governments and citizens, as temporary reductions in the levels of energy demand and air pollutants can easily be counterbalanced by adverse effects, known as the ‘rebound effect.’Social media summaryHow did the changes in energy consumption and production due to COVID-19 affect climate change and human health in different countries?
Highlights
On 11 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2020)
Despite the high contribution of renewables in the total installed capacity of Colombia, fossil fuels had a strong influence in May, where the use of hard coal and natural gas almost doubled, whereas hydropower generation reduced up to 30%
There is no evidence that the COVID-19 lockdown measure implemented by Colombia has reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in comparison to 2019
Summary
On 11 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2020). Global crises are known to lead to overall reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, these are often temporary, suggesting that COVID-19 might not have significant positive impacts on climate change in the long run, but rather detrimental impacts on the environment due to negative secondary effects (Zambrano-Monserrate et al, 2020). Both climate change and COVID-19 are global issues having impacts of unprecedented and largely uncertain magnitude
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
