A COVID-19 vaccine has given the world a glimmer of hope that life might return to normal in 2021. But are we being overly optimistic about what the new year will bring?
According to some experts, yes. World Food Programme executive director David Beasley has warned 2021 “is literally going to be catastrophic” as the pandemic and its economic impact ravages poor countries and fuels a spike in famine.
And while the vaccine might slow the spread of the virus, it is still largely unknown whether it will prevent transmission of COVID-19 or just protect against the illness.
Here are some other things we will have to worry about in 2021.
Climate crisis
2020 is shaping up to be the third-hottest year on record (even despite massive declines in carbon dioxide emissions due to the widespread economic shutdowns) and we are still nowhere near where we need to be in terms of reducing emissions to reach the 2015 Paris agreement goals.
Unless the world takes radical action, we are heading towards “catastrophic” global temperature rises, a UN-backed report warned earlier this month. And in the meantime Australia is staring down a wet, dangerous summer as La Nina threatens flooding and storms across the country. You don’t have to look any further than Byron Bay to see what that could mean for us.
Biden v the Senate
Joe Biden’s win has brought hope that 2021 will see an end to much of the turmoil created by the Trump presidency. But what if Biden doesn’t have control of the Senate?
Moreover, even if the Democrats win in both crucial Senate runoff elections on January 5, Biden will still have a conservative Supreme Court to deal with. Here he faces a battle over the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) as well as a legitimacy crisis over the conservative stacking of the court.
All this on top of healing a nation torn apart by a deadly pandemic, racial injustice and a deep political divide.
Trump on the loose
Whether or not Trump remains on the political scene after Biden’s inauguration on January 20, experts say he still poses a unique threat to a Biden presidency — and the world — in 2021.
There are many ways in which Trump could continue to be a destabilising force, including by releasing highly classified information. His relationships with foreign powers including Russia could also pose geopolitical risks even once he leaves the White House.
China
What’s in store for Australia if its relationship with China continues to deteriorate? Australia is in many ways the canary in the coalmine when it comes to China’s dominant presence on the world stage and how that plays out in a post-COVID world.
Will our current trade war trigger a broader geopolitical conflict? Is China testing us ahead of a bigger confrontation with the West? As parts of Australia’s economy start to open up again, particularly the university sector, China’s trade threats pose a huge problem for the government, with an all-out trade war threatening to cost Australia 6% of GDP.
Cyber attack
In case all that’s not enough to worry about, the International Monetary Fund has released research that shows the world’s financial system could collapse if growing fears of a devastating cyber-security hack are realised. Is this the Y2K of the 2020s, or a legitimate threat? We’ll just have to wait to find out.
Maybe I am the only one…I have enjoyed a lot of 2020…why, for one I’m still alive. The roads and shops etc during shutdowns were QUIET, just like years ago. I get to work from home…Yah. I saved heaps of cash. The destruction of our environment has been slowed. Even my super has recovered. There has been time to reflect on important things in life. So not all bad.
However I do feel for those who lost income and loved ones, the world was cruel for some. The fires were horrid and the performance of some of our ‘leaders’ even worse.
We’re in desperate need of mainstream media that prioritizes people and environment before money. The Keating esque transformation of Australia that unleashed the power of the American virus politics of the individual before the group has wreaked havoc on our country.
That Banana republic Keating warned of where people drove 2nd hand cars, had smaller houses, recycled and repaired and enjoyed their backyards and cheap camping with a 35 hour working week plus leave loading for holidays was a far better quality of life.
It is impossible to present an alternative to current aspiration with mainstream media controlled by corporate propagandists.
Good people believe utter crap years in the making, a correction must come.
“Reductions” is something of a weasel word if no quantity of reduction is quoted. After all, the Minister of the day might well be referring to his own cigarette consumption. And that quantity has to be in tons of CO2 equivalent, not some intermediate value like the number of solar panels or prayers to the climate gods.
Oh and the Donald has provided hours of entertainment, if somewhat scary.
Having regard to the horrific revelations before the Royal Commission on Aged Carevwith the final report expected to make major recommendations for reform of the care industry I am surprised that the importance of aged care to the 4 millions of pensioners who may need care like the millions of dementia cases but it appears the Morrison government has already shown their disregard for the aged by failing to plan for the virus and this lead to the unnecessary and lonely deaths of some 700 aged in care homes and Morrison is hoping the public will believe the vaccine ha s solved the problems even as the RC recorded the abuse and neglect was happening for years under Morrison’s watch. I hope the voters don’t forget that their parents and grandparents are scheduled to be abused unless there is major reforms as proposed by the Royal Commission