{"id":836,"date":"2020-10-31T17:00:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T17:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1326375"},"modified":"2020-10-31T17:00:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-31T17:00:11","slug":"to-reach-net-zero-carbon-emissions-we-must-address-social-inequalities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=836","title":{"rendered":"To reach net-zero carbon emissions, we must address social inequalities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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With COP26<\/a>, the UN\u2019s climate change conference, on the horizon next year in Glasgow, all eyes are on securing the decarbonization of the global economy. What this will mean and how it will be achieved will be hotly debated before, during and after the conference.<\/p>\n

Thanks to COVID-19, the world has experienced an extraordinary simulation of what abrupt decarbonization might look like. At least in relation to transport, lockdown has revealed the enormous improvements<\/a> in air quality and wildlife habitats, which result from curtailing fossil-fueled transport.<\/p>\n

But, at the same time, hastily implemented lockdown measures, including enforced confinement, have worsened inequalities that affect quality of life, access to food, education, work and mental health.<\/p>\n

[Read: 4 ridiculously easy ways you can be more eco-friendly<\/a><\/em>]<\/p>\n

Growing public protests against pandemic restrictions, including road closures<\/a> to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, have also mirrored the febrile and often polarizing public debate around carbon-mitigation policies.<\/p>\n

While evidence indicates that some of these anti-lockdown protests are funded by shadowy conservative groups<\/a> also pushing climate denial, other protests have been driven by legitimate grievances. Both highlight the importance of designing policies that are equitable and improve people\u2019s lives \u2013 as well as explaining those policies to citizens.<\/p>\n