Earth Day 2021: Road to Recovery
Earth Day 2021: Road to Recovery - Descriptive Transcript
[American Museum of Natural History logo animates out over an illustration of the rotating Earth.]
[TEXT: Earth Day 2021: Road to Recovery
[TEXT: This Earth Day, we’re in the midst of the worst global pandemic in a century.]
[Earth dissolves into a spiky coronavirus the same diameter as the globe.]
[TEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone.]
[The coronavirus becomes an empty circle. An abstract figure peers through and looks sad, as if trapped inside.]
[TEXT: Half the world’s population—3.9 billion people—experience lockdown. Source: AFP]
[A “We’re closed” sign swings inside the circle, representing a shuttered business.]
[TEXT: 8.8% of working hours were lost, the equivalent of 255m full-time jobs. Source: ILO]
[Screen goes blank.]
[TEXT: Over 140 million people got sick. 3m people died.]
[TEXT: By mid-April 2021, 140m people had tested positive and 3m deaths were officially attributed to Covid-19 globally. Source: JHU]
[TEXT: The global economy slowed down.]
[TEXT: In 2020, the global economy shrunk 4.3%. Source: World Bank]
[Globe reappears on centerscreen. Airplanes are flying around it.]
[SOUNDS OF A FLIGHT ATTENDANT SPEAKING TO PASSENGERS]
[TEXT: In 2020, international tourism fell 74%. Source: UNWTO]
[Most airplanes disappear. Then all planes are replaced by abstract factories circling the globe.]
[SOUNDS OF MOTORS]
[TEXT: Manufacturing fell 8%. Source: UNIDO]
[Some factories disappear. Then all factories are replaced by abstract ships circling the globe.]
[SOUND OF SHIP HORN]
[TEXT: There was a 9% drop in trade. Source: WTO]
[Some ships disappear. Then the globe is replaced by a flickering flame.]
[TEXT: In 2020, energy demand fell. Gas: -3%]
[A shovel scoops up some glowing coal.]
[SOUND OF SHOVELING]
[TEXT: Coal: -7%]
[A gas nozzle drips]
[SOUND OF DRIPPING]
[TEXT: Oil: -9%]
[TEXT: Global energy use fell 4% in 2020, including for natural gas (-2.5%), coal (-4%) and oil (-8.6%). Source: IEA]
[A line graph is drawn, showing mostly rising CO2 emissions since 1940, with a significant dip in 2020.]
[TEXT: As a result, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions experienced their biggest drop in history. 7% Source: Carbon Brief]
[TEXT: Global CO2 emissions fell 2.4 billion tonnes in 2020, the largest decline in history and a 7% reduction compared to 2019.]
[The graph is extended to 2030, and a dashed line indicates a continued steep decline in CO2 emissions.]
[TEXT: To meet the Paris Agreement targets to limit global warming, we would need to cut CO2 every year through 2030.]
[TEXT: To limit warming to under 2°C this century, we must cut CO2 4-7% (1-2 Gt) every year for the next decade. Source: Nature]
[An airplane flies past and the graph is replaced by an abstract person.]
[TEXT: When we emerge from the pandemic, human activity will pick up again. Can we still cut greenhouse gases?]
[The person shrugs.]
[The music changes to a faster, more upbeat tune as the word “Yes” takes up most of the screen.]
[TEXT: Yes. If we act now to:]
[Solutions are listed one by one, from the bottom of the list to the top.]
[TEXT: Dispose of refrigerants properly. Use cleaner cookstoves. Restore tropical forests. Invest in health & education. Switch to plant-rich diets. Reduce food waste. Shift to renewable energy.]
[TEXT: To learn about solutions, visit Project Drawdown at drawdown.org.]
[Graph appears. On the x-axis are the years 2009 through 2019. On the y-axis is the price of electricity. An animated wind turbine and solar panel move across the graph and each draws on a line with a descending slope. The prices of both wind and solar energy are declining over time.]
[TEXT: The shift to renewable energy is happening much faster than expected, as costs plummet.]
[The solar and wind icons are joined by a flickering flame, representing gas, and a glowing pile of coal. Each as a price under it, given in dollars per megawatt-hour.]
[TEXT: Solar: $40, Wind: $41, Gas: $56, Coal: $109. $/MWh. Source: Our World in Data]
[Graph moves off screen and is replaced by a piggy bank.]
[TEXT: Institutions are divesting from fossil fuels]
[TEXT: By 2020, 1,200 institutions with $14 trn in assets had moved investments away from the fossil fuel industry. Source: Fossil Free]
[Dollar signs pour from the bottom of the piggy bank and fill up bars in a bar chart.]
[SOUNDS OF COINS PILING UP]
[TEXT: and investing more sustainably.]
[Bar chart shows steadily increasing investment between 2006 and 2020.]
[TEXT: By 2020, 3,038 institutions with $103 trn in assets had pledged to incorporate sustainability principles into investment decisions. Source: PRI]
[Bar chart scrolls off screen. A high-speed train passes through a rural scene with wind turbines, solar panels and trees. It arrives in a city, where lights click on in buildings, representing the use of renewable energy.]
[TEXT: Renewable energy can power new jobs, industries, and a more resilient global economy]
[Cityscape is replaced with bubbles filling the screen and then floating away.]
[TEXT: while lowering the costs of climate change and air pollution, and saving millions of lives.]
[TEXT: Every year an estimated 8m people die prematurely from air pollution, including outdoor (4.2m) and indoor (3.8m) air pollution. Source: WHO]
[The screen clears and an abstract human figure takes center stage.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Change our behaviors quickly]
[The figure wears a face mask.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Innovate]
[A hypodermic needle appears and a vaccine is injected into the figure’s arm.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Work together to meet big challenges]
[The figure is joined by other abstract people of different shades of color. They bump elbows. The figures move off screen and the globe returns to the center.]
[TEXT: What will future Earth Days look like? Together, we decide.]
[Credits roll.]
Does the coronavirus pandemic hold lessons for the fight against climate change? With travel, manufacturing, and trade down during the global COVID-19 outbreak, the Earth experienced a big drop in carbon dioxide emissions. In this video, we examine what happened to the economy and environment in 2020 and explore how solutions like renewable energy can fuel a resilient economy while cutting CO2 emissions.