How will the COVID-19 crisis affect action on climate change?

The New York Times “What the Coronavirus Means for Climate Change“

This is a great overview of the promise and perils associated with post-coronavirus climate action.

For me, the greatest potential for turning this terrible global health crisis into a catalyst for global climate action is to tie economic recovery efforts to sustainability. The “Green New Deal” concept makes even more sense now because:

1. People need work. There will be support for any effort that creates jobs.
2. We need to put people to work doing something productive. Here’s our chance to tie together remedies for social problems (such as building affordable housing) with remedies for climate change (such as building out an extensive renewable-energy system).
3. A lot of the industries that we have relied on to fuel economic activity — and which are big contributors to climate change — are going to be knocked down (if not out) by this economic crisis; now is our chance to replace these industries with more sustainable alternatives, alternatives that provide the same economic drive benefits without all the climate damage.