A Green New Deal will further guarantee the safety of small island nations
By creating self-sustaining energy and relying less on imports, the islands could become much more self-sufficient. This would both protect the island during a future pandemic as well as aid the environment.
<
(2 of 4)
Next argument >
The Argument
In a post COVID-19 existence, a Green New Deal will further guarantee the safety of small island nations. Smaller island nations are amongst the most vulnerable in society. A vast majority of them already faced risks due to climate change, dealing with rising sea levels as well as severe weather events.[1] Coronavirus has only underscored this vulnerability, as these island nations often do not have the infrastructure to battle severe bouts of COVID-19. Some like Hong Kong and Singapore, possess the ability, but islands in the Southeast Pacific and Carribean face a variety of dilemmas regarding both climate change and coronavirus. By implementing a Green New Deal type plan, these island nations, the more and less developed alike, can benefit.[2] By creating self-sustaining energy and relying less on imports, the islands could become much more self-sufficient. This would both protect the islands during a future pandemic as well as aid the environment.[3]
Counter arguments
A Green New Deal does not guarantee the protection of smaller island nations following the coronavirus pandemic. This is largely due to the fact that smaller island nations can never be fully self-sufficient and will always rely on larger countries and economy. City-states like Hong Kong and Singapore may be hugely wealthy and populated, but that stems from being an international port of call rather than their own individual infrastructure or success. Less developed islands in the Caribbean like Jamaica, for example, simply do not have the power to change their fate alone. Even if these island nations become carbon neutral, it will not stop oceans from swallowing them whole if other countries continue on a path detrimental to the planet.