The world’s lack of unity in tackling Covid-19 is a bad omen for its looming struggle with climate change, a former diplomatic official has said.
Bruno Macaes, who was Portugal’s European affairs minister from 2013 to 2015, said pandemics were once seen as an area where countries were sure to co-operate.
But he was disappointed by how little this happened, with countries instead seeking self-reliance and squabbling over vaccine supplies.
Speaking on a Chatham House panel, he said similar tensions could soon unfold over tackling the climate crisis.
“I see Covid as a sort of warm-up to a very similar process,” said Mr Macaes, who was previously an adviser to Portugal’s prime minister.
“I think the climate emergency will soon look similar to Covid in the reactions that it will force us to take; in the public measures that we’ll be forced to take; in the conflict, social and political, that it will bring about.
“We don’t talk enough about that. But that was a surprise with Covid, that people didn’t come together, they actually in many places broke apart and social and political conflict became more acute.”
Scientists are urging global co-operation to tackle climate change, with the Cop26 summit in Glasgow in November regarded as a key moment.
Preparations have been hampered by the pandemic, with one official involved in the talks expressing concern that “Zoom diplomacy” has slowed progress.
Britain has offered to provide vaccines for Cop26 delegates from poorer countries, who faced a months-long struggle to get supplies of Covid shots.
Mr Macaes said that far from encouraging more co-operation, the pandemic had exacerbated competition between global rivals.
“I remember when I was drafting, back in my days as a politician and a foreign policy official, documents about global co-operation,” he said.
“When we were struggling with all issues, pandemics [were] an example of when global co-operation would inevitably happen. But that was not the case at all.”
Thomas Wright, an international politics expert at the Brookings Institution, said unequal access to vaccines could have long-term consequences.
He told the panel that world leaders should use an upcoming G20 summit to promise more investment in vaccinating the world.
“I do really worry that the effects of a two-tier vaccine approach will turbo-charge global inequality,” he said.
“We’ll have safe zones and unsafe zones. If you come from the unsafe zone, you’re not allowed to travel to the United States or Europe or elsewhere.
“We’ll justify that on public health grounds, but it will cut across socio-economic, geopolitical and even ethnic lines, and I think be very destabilising.”
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Saturday's results
Women's third round
- 14-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-2, 6-2
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4. 6-0
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) beat Alison Riske (USA) 6-2, 6-4
- 9-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 19-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Petra Martic (Croatia) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 7-6, 6-1
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4, 6-0
Men's third round
- 13-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Dudi Sela (Israel) 6-1, 6-1 -- retired
- Sam Queery (United States) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 6-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat 25-Albert Ramos (Spain) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
- 10-Alexander Zverev (Germany) beat Sebastian Ofner (Austria) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 11-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
