We live in unusual times. Now, with everyone coped inside their houses and the planet almost standing still, we have time to self-reflect and notice our values shift. What didn’t seem as important before becomes our priority now. In the ‘age’ of social distancing, people are trying to connect more than ever. We all crack a smile at the window concerts in Italy, the balcony workout classes in Spain, or the ‘Make your neighbors Dance’ moments in France.

Coronavirus has had more impact on our lives than any technological advancement in the last decade. Possibly even more. It has made us realize that what we prize the most is human life. It is absolutely devastating seeing the death tolls rising and how so many countries are struggling to provide proper care and support. Now, we can only follow the experts’ advice in preventing the virus’ spread and look to the future with a positive outtake.

And that is what this article is all about.

How will Coronavirus impact our lives in the long term?

What will we have learned at the end of this trial?

What measures would we implement?

And here, I’m not only talking about the healthcare system, the education system or any other service system. Through all the updates on ‘number of beds’ and ‘flattening the curve’, people have also paid attention on something else. This ‘time-out’ break for most industries has impacted the environment. Maybe it’s not a priority now, in this very moment. But when we will have overcome this virus, we will all have to live on a world with a very changed landscape.

China’s quality of air increased by 21.5% in February compared to last year. They even saw blue skies. As the planet’s most polluted country, this shows the extreme impact we can make with focused, active measures to preserve the environment.

The European Space Agency has released images showing the dramatic drop of nitrogen dioxide emissions over Italy. What’s more, for the first time in a long time Venice has had clear waters with visible fish. They even had dolphins returning to the canals. Watch them here.

Carbon monoxide emissions in New York have dropped by nearly 50% compared with last year. This is mostly due to the decrease in traffic, which has cleared up the street of Big Apple.

This happened for obvious reasons. No matter how much we wanted to minimize the climate change up until now, extreme measures such as quarantine and country lock down have demonstrated the difference it would make to save the environment. So how will the trend go? Already, the oil& gas industry is facing a crisis with a barrel of crude oil sold for $67.05 on New York’s NASDAQ exchange on 1st of January and priced at around $30.00 per barrel on 17th of March. BP’s market cap is down by 49% of what it was worth in the beginning of the year. Oil demand in China is dramatic with a year-on-year fall of 1.8 million barrels per day. Worldwide demand drops by 2.5 mb/d. Check the IEA report here. The power demand in Italy has suffered an 8% drop. Will the energy industry focus on providing more clean energy in an effort to preserve the involuntary environmental progress? Will we lapse back in over-consuming? Will coronavirus shift the balance from oil&gas to renewable energy? Will the industry recover at all with the uncertain timeline we’re having?

I am, by no means an expert, and cannot foresee the future. But I’m sure everyone is wondering the same thing. So, every Friday, we will have a look at what is happening globally to our environment and how this could impact the energy sector and your business. And who knows, maybe at the end we will all have different business models more adapted for challenges of this scale.

One thing is for sure, coronavirus is the enemy that we all must face together, no matter who we are and where we come from. Just as BP is offering free fuel to the emergency services and free food delivery to the elderly in the UK. Check Bernard Looney, BP’s CEO , LinkedIn post here.

Tell us about the what worries you about your business in the comments below. Ask questions and stay informed. We’re always here to help. Stay safe and stay tuned to our blog, Linkedin and Facebook pages.

About the Author

Laura is the newest addition to the SAS team. She takes care of all SAS’s digital space, making sure our voice is heard across the globe. Her aim is to create meaningful relations so SAS can connect with like-minded partners and contribute to the well being of Planet Earth.