As COVID-19 sweeps across the world as a global pandemic, it reveals the failures of governments, but also highlights the possibilities of change by those same institutions. Among the startling revelations that have come to light amidst the coronavirus pandemic is the reality that countries can still change their environmental habits and policies to reduce pollution.

Due to mandated self-quarantine orders and business shutdowns, pollution across the United States and the world has decreased dramatically. In fact, global greenhouse gas emissions have decreased 17% since early April. Additionally, atmospheric levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollution has declined by 30% in the Northeast US and by up to 31% in the Southeast US, according to NASA satellite data. Nitrogen dioxide levels in highly air polluted cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle have also declined as car emissions and electricity production have decreased. Significantly, this decline of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions demonstrates that there is still an opportunity to effectively deal with climate change.

According to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “the climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win.” However, up until quarantine, there had been an ineffective effort at countries trying to curb their pollution contributing to climate change. In particular, the United States has yet to make effective and permanent change to help the world in its fight against climate change due to its ever-shifting environmental policy and the failure of the EPA. The United States has a significant role to play, because as one of the top 5 polluting countries in the world, it is undoubtedly partly responsible for the predicament the world is currently facing with climate change. Therefore, the US is responsible for mobilizing its tremendous amount of international influence and resources to inspire and collaborate with other nations to sincerely make environmental efforts to combat climate change. Although this may be only a first step for the world in significantly dealing with climate change, moving forward step-by-step is better than not moving at all.

Additionally, combating climate change is important because, according to the UN, climate change affects environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather and temperature extremes, the food and water supply, the economies of the world, and whether the sea level will rise and consume almost two-thirds of the world’s cities. However, climate change requires sacrifice from each and every individual in the world because the only way to curb US (and world-wide) pollution is for everyone to unite and change their environmental practices together. Yet, a lack of unity is exactly what has prevented the United States from achieving an effective policy to combat climate change in the past.

The United States is disunited due to increasing partisan division on every topic from policies to ‘basic facts’. Among these ‘basic facts’ include how to respond to COVID-19 and the importance of combating climate change.

With regard to COVID-19, according to the Pew Research Center, 87% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are concerned over states lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly. Comparatively, only 47% of Republicans and Republican leaners are concerned with states lifting coronavirus restrictions too quickly. Moreover, 61% of Conservative Republicans say that they are more concerned that states will not lift coronavirus restrictions quickly enough. In addition, this displeasure with coronavirus restrictions is also seen by the growing anti-lockdown protests by Conservatives.

Similarly, there is a division in partisanship between Democrats and Republicans on whether or not climate change should even be a priority for the US to enact significant legislation over. According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of Democrats think the federal government is ineffective in reducing the effects of global climate change. Additionally, approximately 78% of Democrats believe that climate change should be a priority of US policy. In contrast, only 21% of Republicans think the federal government should prioritize climate change in its policies, and nearly half (47%) of Conservative Republicans think climate change policies would make no difference for the environment.

Due to these embedded differences in partisanship, it is hard to expect Americans to unite around changing the environmental practices, policies, habits, and lifestyles of the United States. Although people have so far refused to make individual sacrifices for the sake of everyone’s survival, it is still not too late for the United States to learn and change from the effects of a coronavirus quarantine on the environment. Obviously, statewide lockdowns are not a permanent solution to reduce pollution, but the US has many policy choices it can undergo to effectively curb the effects of global warming. These basic steps include renewable energy, electric cars, and nature-based solutions such as improved agricultural practices, land restoration, or conservation.

Hence, if people unite and change their environmental efforts together to combat climate change, then the earth and the human race will have an improved chance of survival. In contrast, if the world remains disunited and does nothing to mitigate pollution, then the earth and the human race’s chance of survival only decreases. Simply put, regardless of whether or not a person believes their effort helps, unless the United States actively changes its environmental practices and policies, one can only expect any reduction in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to return to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.