World responds differently to two global crises

The coronavirus pandemic and climate change are both crises with global economic, political, and public health implications. 
Despite their similarities, responses have been substantially different. With each unprecedented announcement from government and health officials, the stark contrast in the response to each of these two crises is thrown into sharp relief. 
Many countries are on a wartime footing over COVID-19. This level of intervention is necessary and proportionate to the potential severity of the problem. The response to the climate crisis is comparatively weak, its defining characteristics being doubt, denial, and delay.
This crisis may well serve to rebuild trust in institutions and science, as the coronavirus has shown it is stubbornly indifferent to misinformation, populist sentiment, and conspiracy theories. As a case study in crisis management, the varying responses of governments around the world to the same virus have demonstrated that a properly managed crisis uses science and evidence to reduce harm.
Evidence and expertise also exist in support of decisive climate action, yet the emergency response has been comparatively weak, hindered by disinformation and ideological opposition. 
Public support for the government’s response to the pandemic is notably split along party lines. This disagreement is not at all reflected in the unified, non-partisan response from political leaders, who have consistently demonstrated leadership by acting in the public interest, regardless of how misunderstood or unpopular it may be with their constituents.
The same partisan dynamic exists in popular opinion regarding climate change – the majority of Canadians want policy to mitigate the climate crisis, and difference of opinion is largely partisan. However, unlike the political response to COVID-19, the necessary non-partisan coalition of political leaders to tackle the climate crisis does not yet exist, the lone holdout being the Conservative party.
As our economy is put on hold, a multi-billion dollar aid package is being rolled out in an attempt to reduce the financial consequences of effective public safety measures of self-isolating and social distancing.
The climate crisis continues almost unabated. There is no aid package attached to a timely energy transition to renewables that includes compensation for affected oil industry workers. The carbon tax is a step in the right direction, but even it is offset by fossil fuel subsidies. With the tumble of oil prices and the Teck Resources recent decision, it is an excellent time to redirect monies to aid packages, incentives and other effective measures.  
Our borders are now closed to non-essential travel to support our efforts at containing the spread of COVID-19. 
It’s time to demonstrate global leadership by imposing a carbon levy on imports to Canada in support of what we are trying to achieve with the carbon tax. It would create a more honest accounting of our emissions and send a clear signal to our trading partners.
Individuals are making personal sacrifices for the greater good, paradoxically showing care for one another by maintaining distance. 
Let’s use this sense of self-sacrifice and “caremongering” in support of climate action. When we’re in it together, it is truly remarkable what we can achieve. The truth is, the elements of a proper response to the climate crisis exist within the Green New Deal. We have the requisite evidence to enact an emergency response, and in fact, the number of emergency declarations grows by the day. 
What it comes down to, plain and simple, is urgency. The climate crisis won’t potentially infect tens of thousands of people in our country, overwhelming hospitals, leading to avoidable deaths in the coming weeks and months. Even though it is officially a crisis, the effects of climate change always seem farther along than the next election cycle, effectively decoupling the risks from the benefits of climate action for political leaders and citizens.  
Nobody should take any comfort in what is happening in our world now, unless it is something that leads to a better world. One potent example is the spirit that emerges when people answer the call to a common cause, and that great, intangible feeling that comes with being a part of something larger than ourselves, turning “me” into “we.”

Nick Clayton is a secondary school teacher in Collingwood and a resident of The Blue Mountains. His proximity to the future generations through his young family and his profession motivate him to act on climate. He is a member of the Collingwood Climate Action Team.