Sustainability specialist says current unrest related to Covid-19 is just the beginning of climate catastrophe to come. The person concerned is the author of a controversial research article that sparked controversy two years ago.
Jem Bendell is Professor of Sustainability and Founder of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) at the University of Cumbria (UK). However, the latter comments fairly regularly on climate news . In 2018, he published Deep Adaptation:A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy (PDF in English / 31 pages), a controversial research article.
In this article with strong collapsological overtones, Jem Bendell pointed to the need for radical measures to reverse the trend of the current climate change. In the event of laxity, civilization could according to him collapse in ten years only. Asked about the Covid-19 news in a Bloomberg article published on March 28, 2020, Jem Bendell said:
“In modern industrial societies, the fallout from Covid-19 feels like a dress rehearsal for the kind of meltdown that climate change is likely to bring. This crisis reveals the fragility of our current way of life. »
According to the researcher, climate disturbances and fires in particular are very visible effects of climate change. These events also disrupt the migratory routes of animals. However, this would have an indirect link with the appearance of pandemics. Now, some animal species are migrating to areas that are usually cooler . In other words, human beings are at greater risk of virus transmission.
Jem Bendell is adamant that continuing to pollute in this way will increase the likelihood of future pandemics . However, the researcher does not just emulate. These include Michael Mann, professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University (USA). He believes that Jem Bendell's predictions go too far and represent a perfect example of climate catastrophism.
Others take these predictions seriously. An article published by The Guardian in October 2019 related the statements of Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England. He believed that humanity should take into account the risk of generalized collapse due to climate change. In any case, many researchers agree that in the absence of concrete measures, climate change will have terrible effects on living beings in general.
