The environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on health and the economy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/revdireconsoc.v14i2.29507

Keywords:

COVID-19; lockdown; atmospheric pollution; sustainable development; 2030 Agenda.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic required extreme sanitary measures to contain virus transmission, such as the lockdown adopted in many countries during outbreak periods. Such restrictive measures have fully changed human lives across the planet, affecting the environment and the global economy. In this study, we carried out a systematic literature review to analyze the pandemic environmental and economic impacts. Our results show that the lockdowns had a positive effect on the environment, especially through air quality improvements due to the reduction of pollutant gas emissions from industries and vehicles. These environmental changes affected the economy and the population’s health, leading us to think about the effects of our activities on the planet and the possible strategies to halt environmental degradation while preserving the economy, thus fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

 

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Author Biographies

Rita de Cássia Neves Leite, Universidade de Pernambuco

Mestre em Gestão do Desenvolvimento Local Sustentável pela Universidade de Pernambuco (Recife-PE, Brasil). Especialista em Direito Administrativo e Gestão Pública pelo Centro Universitário de Patos (Patos-PB, Brasil). Graduada em Direito pela Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (João Pessoa-PB, Brasil). Assistente em Administração do Instituto Federal de Pernambuco - Campus Cabo de Santo Agostinho (Cabo de Santo Agostinho - PE, Brasil).

Mariana Guenther, Universidade de Pernambuco

Professora Associada e Livre Docente da Universidade de Pernambuco (Recife-PE, Brasil). Doutora em Ciências – Oceanografia Biológica pela Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo-SP, Brasil) com Pós Doutorado em Oceanografia pela Universidade da Califórnia em San Diego (San Diego-CA, USA). Mestre em Ecologia pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brasil). Graduada em Ciências Biológicas – Ecologia pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brasil). Coordenadora do Núcleo de Pesquisas em Educação Ambiental e Comunicação da Ciência (NUPEAC). Docente Permanente do Programa de Pós Graduação em Gestão do Desenvolvimento Local Sustentável da Universidade de Pernambuco (Recife-PE, Brasil).

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Published

2023-12-22

How to Cite

LEITE, R. de C. N.; GUENTHER, M. The environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on health and the economy. Revista de Direito Econômico e Socioambiental, Curitiba, v. 14, n. 2, p. e247, 2023. DOI: 10.7213/revdireconsoc.v14i2.29507. Disponível em: https://periodicos.pucpr.br/direitoeconomico/article/view/29507. Acesso em: 21 nov. 2024.

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