Corona’s threat to the climate momentum, and the birth of the conscious consumer

There’s much to be said about the effect of the coronavirus on climate change.

A few weeks ago we saw reports that emissions had gone down significantly in China due to production cuts. It’s true that the coronavirus on the short term has done what years of climate negotiations couldn’t. That ought to be good news but it might be the exact opposite. 

construction-heavy stimulus programs bringing about emissions levels worse than pre-corona

With the prediction of significant losses across industries, it’s not unlikely that the response that we will see, will be governments launching construction-heavy stimulus programs bringing about emissions levels worse than pre-corona.

I fear that countries’ growth targets will be at the expense of investments in green technology and renewables and it’s not entirely incomprehensible. Low-income workers are the ones suffering the most from this pandemic since they’re not financially capable of not having an income for weeks. Therefore, to avoid a human catastrophe the mantra will be ‘get back to business’, and that’s a fossil-fueled one. 

What can we do then? OK, I have to admit, the corona-climate-crisis cocktail seems at this very moment quite unmanageable, but of course we do have options. 

it’s more crucial than ever that demand for sustainable solutions is generated

With governments and companies post-corona focusing on pure recovery from quarters with massive losses, it’s more crucial than ever that demand for sustainable solutions is generated. With demand follows investments as the risk will be considerably lower.

Therefore, what we could and should do, all of us, is to buy products and services that are good for both people and planet. This conscious shift can be made often without increasing the price. It’s simply a matter of choosing. Also, we can of course change our consumption habits and for instance eat less meat, if possible find alternatives to flying, reuse or buy products that are made of used materials. In a nutshell, make the right choices. You can rightly ask yourself, did we really need the coronavirus to push this forward? Apparently so. Nevertheless, instead of apathy we must choose action and through our actions create the future that we want.

Myself, I’m part of the global travel and tourism industry. An industry employing close to 400 million people, and one of the industries employing from the base of the pyramid providing livelihood to marginalised groups of people. Also the industry being hit the hardest from the coronavirus as a result of an almost global freeze in travel.

The good news is that we know that the coronavirus will come to an end. At that time work travel will pick up and and people will also want to travel for leisure with family and friends. Summer vacation is around the corner, and depending on when we recover from the initial shock of coronavirus. In all cases, many will book hotels and enjoy well-deserved time off with their loved ones.

Regardless of which hotel booking platform being used, any hotel bookings will be extremely good for the suffering travel & tourism industry, and its millions of workers. But let summer vacation be the first stone in a new economy. 

I believe in the force of the market to drive change in the world

As founder and CEO of a B Corp certified hotel booking platform I believe in the force of the market to drive change in the world. We’re for profit but we’re designed-to-give in our business model and are working tirelessly to transform the footprint of travel.

Besides paying for offsetting the carbon emissions from all hotel stays sold on our platform, enabling our clients to sleep carbon neutral at no extra cost, we donate a large portion of our revenue from all hotel bookings to our more than 100 nonprofits around the world. Nonprofits who are the real heroes, on the ground, planting or protecting trees, building schools, giving access to education or healthcare and much more ensuring a future of a planet in balance and better conditions for those less fortunate. 

This is a call for everyone to start consume more consciously

The economic repercussions from corona will extend well beyond the travel and tourism industry. Goodwings simply serves as an example of how easy it is to both boost the economy while at the same time get the climate momentum back on track - and all the other 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The future is bright, and can potentially also be green, depending on what you choose to buy. You are in control.