COVID-19: Kuwait debates ecological impact of coronavirus

Coronavirus crisis results in cuts in harmful emissions

Cairo: The repercussions of the global coronavirus pandemic have gone beyond public health and economy to hit the environment as well, a prominent Kuwaiti environmentalist has said.

Wajdan Al Eqabi, the chairwoman of the Kuwait Environmental Protection Society, added that negative impact of the virus includes accumulated plastic waste resulting from use of disposable plastic products in dealing with COVID-19.

“We are now facing the problem of the contaminated plastic waste and failure of some users to dispose of them in their designated places, a matter that helps spread the virus,” she told a virtual seminar.

However, Wajdan said there is a chance at hand to encourage the manufacture of environmentally friendly substances and ban the use of disposable plastic products.

She added that participants in the webinar cited a lot of benefits to the environment due to the COVID-19 crisis, including a cut in carbon dioxide.

“Reports released by NASA and the European Space Agency have shown a drop in levels of nitrogen dioxide emissions resulting from the fossil fuel due to the economic downturn and reduction in motor traffic,” Wajdan added, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.

She noted that carbon dioxide has decreased by around 25 to 50 per cent in several countries, rates the UN has pushed for decades at its climate change conferences.

Experts from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Canada, Algeria and Libya participated in the webinar.