We live in a rapidly changing world.
The significant factors causing environmental change today are the COVID-19
pandemic and climate change. We cannot yet foresee when COVID-19 will end,
even though it has been spreading since its first report in December 2019. As of May
2021, more than 150 million people have been infected, and the number of COVIDrelated
deaths has exceeded 3 million people worldwide. With such direct damages,
COVID-19 has profoundly influenced the living conditions of vulnerable people
such as those living in poverty, non-regular workers, the elderly, children,
and women.
It has been pointed out that a potential cause of its occurrence and spread is the
expansion of human activities, which degrades natural ecosystems and increases the
risks of encountering unknown viruses. Recent globalization trends have contributed
to the rapid diffusion of the virus and the expansion of the pandemic. The
COVID-19 pandemic also highlights essential issues in today's society, such as the
relationship between humans and nature, the vulnerable sides of globalization, and
various socioeconomic divides among and within countries.
Climate change has also been progressing, making its impacts more apparent
globally, particularly over the past 10 years. For example, India was hit by extraordinary
heatwaves of more than 50°C in 2019, and the Philippines has suffered from
severe damage from super typhoons. Simultaneously, Japan has been experiencing
the increased impact of larger-scale floods caused by torrential rains and typhoons,
which have caused escalating levels of damage. Bushfires in Australia in 2020 and
California in 2021 gave a strong shock to the world. Although the times and places
were different, all of these events were similarly reported using words such as
"unprecedented" or "once a lifetime" occurrences. Hence, it is clear that among the
features of today's rapidly changing world is the reality that environmental changes
are confronting us with unparalleled challenges and risks.
