16 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Friday27 March 2020
We call on leaders to put
climate and biodiversityat the top of the agenda
It is time to harness our fears, build
hope and drive action to build resilient
societies on the longer term.
The world has been plunged into an
extraordinary crisis. We share a deep
concern for the human cost that Covid-
19 is inflicting and express a profound
sense of solidarity with the most
vulnerable communities. We fully
support the emergency measures
needed to save lives and protect the
economy.
This pandemic is teaching us how
much we depend on each other for our
health systems, food systems and
supply chains. We are all on this planet
together. And the planet is in the midst
of a deeper and longer-term crisis
rooted in a number of interconnected
global challenges. Humanity has
crossed planetary boundaries.
International co-operation is the best
option to resolve future existential
threats. Like Covid-19, climate change,
biodiversity loss, and financial collapse
do not observe national borders. These
threats must be managed through
systemic and collective action.
Countries are stronger together.
How leaders decide to stimulate the
economy and allocate capital in
response to the crisis will either
amplify these threats or mitigate them.
The risk is making nearsighted
decisions that increase emissions and
continue to degrade nature. It is time to
invest in nature, phase out fossil fuels,
move to a circular economy and
accelerate the transition to resilient
low-carbon economies.
We call on leaders to have the
courage, wisdom and foresight to seize
the opportunity to make their
economic recovery plans
transformative for people and nature.
In so doing, they will secure a path to
net zero emissions by 2050 to meet the
Paris Agreement, transform our food
systems and rebuild our relationship
with nature.
That is why it is so important that
climate and biodiversity stay at the top
of the agenda, and that leaders leverage
every opportunity to keep up
momentum and make progress at the
United Nations nature, climate and
biodiversity summits later this year.
This is the moment to rise to thechallenge to emerge from this
emergency with a global economic
reset. Ensuring the health and
prosperity of people and the planet is
possible if we make bold decisions
today so that future generations can
survive and thrive in a better world.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez
Minister of Environment, Costa Rica
A global call from thePlanetary
Emergency Partnership
For the full letter and list of signatories go
to http://www.ft.com/lettersIn many ways, Covid-
is the true invisible hand
How interesting that Jonathan
Guthrie’s “Get ready for the $4.5tn
takeover” (March 26) should quote
Matt Kilcoyne of the Adam Smith
Institute as a proponent of economic
libertarianism, sighing at Covid-19’s
necessitation of state intervention in
whole sectors of business.
In many ways, Covid-19 is the true
invisible hand. Yet unlike Adam
Smith’s invisible hand, where
individuals, guided by their own self-
interest, produce optimal market
efficiency; Covid-19’s invisible hand
seems to be guiding us, through our
collective interest, towards a renewal of
community.
Mr Guthrie’s analysis is compelling.
It would seem that society is waking up
to the idea that our only defence
against our human fragility isinterdependence. Also compelling
is his prescription that businesses
should use this opportunity to accrue
goodwill by helping customers through
this crisis.
Who knows, perhaps the invisible
hand that is Covid-19 will force
businesses to make this turn towards
community. Perhaps, after the fog of
this virus has lifted, the only
corporations left standing will be those
with cultures that prioritise their
communities (shareholders, customers
and staff).
Patrick Kelly
Chief Executive,
The Mizen Group,
New York, NY, USQuestion that tapped
into deep knowledge
Thirty-five years ago, Andrew Grove
found himself “wandering in the valley
of death”, leading Intel’s huge but
floundering memory chip business.
Eventually he asked his chairman,
Gordon Moore, one of Intel’s founders,
an empowering question. “If we got
kicked out and the board brought in a
new chief executive, what would he
do?”
Moore replied without hesitation:
“He would get us out of [memory
chips]”. They did just that, overcoming
pain to transform Intel into the world’s
leading microprocessor company.
Intel succeeded because Grove’s
question tapped into deep knowledge.
It helped to overcome groupthink,
status quo bias, loss aversion and a host
of other well-understood social and
psychological behaviours that usually
leave us unable to discuss big problems
especially when change is needed. And
he was blessed with an environment in
which his question could be asked and
answered in safety.
Many businesses face an existential
crisis framed by Covid-19 and the
climate emergency. What if their
leaders were to create the conditions to
empower their boards and other
internal forums to answer that
question safely, before listening — with
care and respect — to no-holds-barred
answers and discussing their
implications? Is there a more
penetrating question for our times?
Anthony Fitzsimmons
Chairman,
Reputability,
London WC2, UKWhile much of the world hunkers
down at home, hiding from the
coronavirus, let’s go on a vicarious
archaeological adventure to a farmer’s
field in the south of Mexico.
Rancher Jacinto Gómez knew there
were some impressive ruins on his
land, in a corner of the state of
Chiapas that is home to the Zapatista
rebels who staged an armed uprising
in 1994. But he had noidea his cattle
were grazing on the site of a long-lost,
ancient Maya city which would turn
out to be the capital of a kingdom
complete with pyramids and palaces.
That year, as modern-day Maya
rebels used the arrival of the North
American Free Trade Agreement to
seize towns in protest at what they
considered centuries of oppression,
the lost kingdom of Sak Tz’i’ came to
the attention of scholars.
Archaeologists found inscriptions at
other sites referencing a kingdom
whose name translates as “white dog”.
The problem was they couldn’t find it.
A decade was to pass before the clue
turned up unexpectedly. A graduate
archaeology student, Whittaker
Schroder, was scouting for a topic for
his dissertation when a local seller of
carnitas Mexican pulled pork) tried(
to flag him down.
A vegetarian, Mr Schroder ignored
him, but the man persisted.
Eventually, just before he was due to
leave, the student relented, only to
discover that the vendor wanted to
show him an ancient 2ft-by-4ft carved
stone tablet bearing inscriptions about
gods, a mythical water serpent and aking, as well as the image of a dancing
royal figure at its base, dressed as a
rain god. His friend, Mr Gómez, had
discovered it on his land and thought
it might be thousands of years old.
Mr Gómez was right. And the tablet
provided the missing piece of the
puzzle, pointing to the ancient city’s
location. Several years of painstaking
negotiations led to the permission to
excavate. The findings, written up in
December in the Journal of Field
Archaeology, were this month
announced byBrandeis University
and Brown University, where the
project’s leaders, anthropology
professors Charles Golden and
Andrew Scherer are based.
Mexico’s presidentAndrés Manuel
López Obrador, who has a ranch near
spectacular Maya ruins in Palenque, a
couple of hours away, is a staunch
defender of the country’s indigenous
heritage. The discovery of Sak Tz’i’ —
located in the small modern-day town
of Lacanjá Tzeltal — closes what Prof
Golden called “a gaping hole in the
map of this ancient landscape”.
Scholars are now seeking tounravel
the kingdom’s place in the Maya
world. kind of city state, it is smallerA
and less spectacular than Palenque or
other famous ruins. Some of its relics
have been looted. But it opens a
window into two-millennia-old
geopolitics and the mystery of how
Sak Tz’i’ managed to survive and
thrive in the face of local wars.
Laser scanning of the area (called
Lidar, or light detection and ranging)
will help flesh out the extent of thefootprint of the ruins. “There are
more surprises, we’ve just scratched
the surface,” said Prof Scherer.
Indeed, while Sak Tz’i’ probably
dates from the 7th or 8th century AD,
it appears to be sitting on preclassical
earthen platforms previously
unknown to archaeologists that could
date back as far as 750BC.
Preserving the Maya culture and
heritage while providing opportunities
for indigenous people in Mexico’s
poorest state has been one of Mr
López Obrador’s central goals. One
Maya teacher, Pedro Uc, last year
lamented to me that “there’s alot of
interest in dead Maya nd not livinga
Maya. They reduce us to folklore.” Mr
Gómez himself felt the Maya “are not
valued as much as before”.
Many locals, himself included, are
enrolled in one of Mr López Obrador’s
flagship social programmes, which
pays people to plant trees. But the
president’s planned “Maya train”
railway, which will traverse the
Yucatán peninsula is a huge point of
discussion among locals and
archaeologists alike, Prof Golden said.
Mr López Obrador maintains he will
plough ahead with the controversial
project, despite the expected
catastrophic impact of the spreading
coronavirus on Mexico’s economy.
The pandemic is also likely to delay
the resumption of excavations this
June. But, for now, Sak Tz’i’ offers a
cloistered world some tantalising
armchair travel.[email protected]A lost Maya
kingdom found
on a farmer’s
smallholding
Mexico
Notebook
by Jude Webber
With tens of thousands of casualties
from Covid-19, and a severe economic
crisis, many politicians are literally
overwhelmed. Yet we are writing about
a third crisis: the climate.
The spending necessary to solve the
short-run economic crisis will amount
to a decade of ordinary discretionary
spending or ordinary budgetary
reforms. It is vital that this money be
spent in a way that is efficient, fair,
non-corrupt — and of lasting value. If
all is spent saving airlines, oil and
carmaking companies, we will have
wasted an opportunity to transition
towards an environmentally
sustainable future.
As we write, millions of professors
and students are taking a crash course
in distance education. Universities
across the world are functioning quite
well despite empty classrooms.
Hopefully, the lecture halls will soonagain teem with life but there will be a
permanent effect. Digital learning
platforms and student-centred learning
are here to stay.
Similarly, travel will rebound
somewhat but not to the same level.
We have learnt that meetings — even
conferences — can be virtual and still
rewarding. The big airlines have been
in trouble for a long time and some
restructuring is inevitable. This is the
creative destruction that crises entail,
which Schumpeter described as the
fundamental force of progress.
Governments across the globe will
spend colossal sums of money to avoid
recession. Instead of spending it on the
vested interests and their stranded
assets, they should look to the future
and start rebuilding our economies to
be energy efficient and powered by
sustainable renewable energy.
Policies have driven industriallearning curves making solar and wind
electricity the cheapest generation in
most parts of the world. Government
spending to invigorate the economy
may now drive down the cost of
technologies substituting fossil fuels
with renewable electricity in other
sectors, and even producing fuels from
electricity.
The opportunity to manage several
crises jointly will not appear again. The
year ahead of us may be a global
turning point marking the start of a
new era in future history books.
Tomas Kåberger
Professor of Renewable Energy and
Affiliate Professor of Industrial Energy
Policy,
Chalmers University of Technology,
Gothenburg, Sweden
Thomas Sterner
Professor of Environmental Economics,
University of Gothenburg, SwedenUnique chance to manage several crises jointly
Letters
F R I DAY2 7 M A R C H 2 0 2 0Email: [email protected]
Include daytime telephone number and full address
Corrections: [email protected]
If you are not satisfied with the FT’s response to your complaint, you can appeal
to the FT Editorial Complaints Commissioner: [email protected]OPINION ON FT.COM
Philip Stephens
The superficial conclusion is that coronavirus
will be a gift to populists and authoritarians
http://www.ft.com/opinion‘I do feel a lot better since I passed it
on, thanks’The world’s most populous country,
China, appears to have Covid-19 under
control;nowthesecondmostpopulous
is battling to contain it. India has put
1.4bn inhabitants nder quarantine —u
probablythelargestexerciseinhistory.
Its struggle to contain theoutbreak si
emblematicofspecialchallengesfacing
much of the developing world. Its
responsewillcarrylessonsforothers.
Over the past week, Indian states
have enacted progressively stricter
laws, especially on travel. All flights
have been cancelled, and the country’s
bustling long distance rail network has
fallen silent. While it is far from alone
in having been slow to tackle the virus,
India’s abrupt, dramatic lockdown
risksalreadybeingtoolate.
Though authorities quickly
restricted entry to travellers from cer-
tain countries, their initial reliance on
airport screening was ineffective
against a disease whose symptoms can
take two weeks to manifest. This was
compounded by the original policy of
onlytesting atients with symptoms:p
as of Sunday, fewer than 20,000 people
had been tested and fewer than 600
had tested positive. The discovery last
week of three infected patients with no
known connection to travellers sug-
gests the disease is already being trans-
mittedamongthepopulation.
Heavy-handed measures may also
have done as much harm as good. The
closure of public transport in cities has
complicated life for medical staff. A
“people’s curfew” last week triggered
an exodus of workers from cities such
as Mumbai to home villages before rail
lines were shut. If Covid-19 has spread
from urban centres to the countryside,
overstretched healthcare infrastruc-
turemaycollapseunderthestrain.
ManyproblemsIndiawillfaceinpre-
venting the spread of the pandemic are
shared by countries from Indonesia to
Brazil to Nigeria. Procedures taken for
granted in western countries are
extremely difficult to apply. Hand
washing relies upon access to running
water which is lacking in much of India
and large parts of Africa. Where availa-
ble, water is often in limited supply.
Soap is a luxury for millions who strug-
gletoputfoodontheplate.
Social distancing is also unlikely to
be feasible. India’s population density
is 450 people to every square kilome-
tre, similar to, say, Rwanda and
Burundi. That means cramped living
conditions, ideal for the spread of coro-
navirus. Many inhabitants, especially
in the informal economy, live precari-
ously. They have little choice but to
continue working and risk exposure to
coronavirus. Guaranteed income
schemes are almost unthinkably diffi-
culttoimplementintheglobalsouth.
India and other developing countries
will have to tailor measures to realities.
In Liberia, for example, the experience
of Ebola has taught people to leave
buckets of disinfectant outside public
placesandprivatehomes.Themessen-
gercanbeasimportantasthemessage.
In west Africa, information about
Ebola was effective only when deliv-
ered by traditional leaders because of
lack of trust in the government. Large
sections of India’s population, includ-
ing many Muslims, are suspicious of
the Modi government. Consideration
should be given to which conduits are
mostsuitedforprovidingadvice.
Western countries’ experiences with
Covid-19 are already harrowing, with
medical systems stretched beyond
breaking point. Yet Italy, Europe’s
worst affected country, has just over
four doctors per 1,000 people. India
has less than one. The average for sub-
Saharan Africa is even lower. Without
the very best health responses, and
outside help, the impact of the pan-
demic on the emerging world could
proveimmeasurablyworse.Developing states cannot rely on measures used in Europe and the US
India’s battle shows the
struggle of global south
Donald Trump wants the US backopen
forbusiness yEaster—April12.Neverb
mind that experts includingAnthony
Fauci, one of the key members of the
White House coronavirus task force,
believethatcasesofCovid-19mightnot
even peak before May. The president
did not say what calculation under-
pinned his target: “I just thought it was
a beautiful day.” Yet it is easy to imag-
ine that in the run-up to an election —
one that might hinge on how his
administration is perceived to have
dealt not just with the health crisis but
with the recession that will result — Mr
Trump wants to get the markets and
USgrowthbackupagain,andfast.
Many countries are grappling with
similar issues. But Mr Trump’s seem-
ingly random target date for getting
people back to work not only runs con-
trary to what health experts say is
neededtoslowthespreadofthevirus:a
strict shelter-at-home policy. It might
leave the US vulnerable to a dangerous
second wave of infections and further
economiccontraction.
Thevirusoutbreakisexposingweak-
nesses in US governance, the economy,
and social protections that have been
buildingfordecades.Yetwhenitcomes
to the World Health Organization’s
warningthisweekthattheworld’slarg-
est economy has the“potential” ot
become the new centre of the pan-
demic, the Trump administration
mustshoulderagoodpartoftheblame.
The White House lacks a coherent
strategy or message for containing the
virus. The president frequently contra-
dicts his own health experts in press
briefings. The administration has also
taken a haphazard approach to public-
private partnerships. Companies
across many industries have been
largely left to make their own decisions
about when and how to help, and what
parts of the moving target of recom-
mendationstheyshouldimplement.
Mr Trump has also left local and
state leaders largely on their own to
decide on when to shut schools and
offices and order quarantines. The
result is a patchwork of approaches,
and competition between local leaders
forscarcebutvitalmedicalresources.
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New
York recently noted that the federal
government had provided only 400
ventilators to a state in need of 30,000.
Without explicitly criticising the presi-
dent in the midst of a national crisis, he
suggested that perhaps the federal gov-
ernment should choose the thousands
of people who were going to die as a
resultoftheshortageofequipment.
New York City’s large and densely-
packed population means that it has
become the US centre of the coronavi-
rus. As the number of cases doubles in
the city roughly every three days, Mr
Cuomo has presented a reassuringly
differentleadershipstyle oMrTrump.t
In his regular news conferences, he
has thoughtfully communicated facts,
health recommendations and eco-
nomic guidance for New Yorkers,
based on up-to-the-minute consulta-
tions with a variety of experts. In New
York, the governor suggested, that
might mean that younger people who
are less vulnerable to coronavirus are
allowed back to work earlier than oth-
ers. But he noted tailored responses
were needed: what works for New York
“maynotworkforTulsa”.
Regional nuances are worth reflect-
ing on. But at a national level, a consist-
ent message from a president who
respects scientific experts and under-
stands what is best for the real econ-
omy—andnotjustWallStreet—iscru-
cialtocontainingthesignificanthealth,
business and labour costs from the
pandemic. Sadly, such a message is
unlikely to come from Mr Trump. That
is a major risk, not only for the US, but
alsotheworld.World’s most advanced economy poised to be epicentre of pandemic
A fumbled White House
response to the virus
This is a disease that must
be beaten everywhere
Martin Wolf (“This pandemic is an
ethical challenge”, March 25)
brilliantly summarises the case for
human solidarity in combating
coronavirus. The combination of weak
international co-operation, “my
country first” populism, and disjointed
and delayed national action has
allowed a containable epidemic to
mutate into a pandemic health
disaster. It is vital that political leaders
act now — and act decisively — on the
lessons of the last few months.
The first lesson is that prevention is
better than cure — and nowhere is that
basic truth more evident than in sub-
Saharan Africa. We can only guess at
the humanitarian disaster there if
containment fails. Half the population
has no access to even the most basic
modern healthcare.
It is not just the poorest countries
that are at risk. How do you contain a
pandemic that takes root in
overcrowded refugee settlements, such
as those that are home to the Rohingya
community in Bangladesh? How do
people protect themselves and their
families in densely populated urban
slums in Jakarta or Lagos that lack
clean water and sanitation?
We know from the experience of
South Korea and other countries in
East Asia what a successful battle plan
against coronavirus looks like. What
we need now is a properly resourced
global plan that will get the testing kits,
the technical support, protective
clothing and vital equipment where it
can make a difference before it is too
late — and that means in the next few
weeks. To its credit, the World Bank
has moved swiftly to put in place a
$6bn fast-track facility to strengthen
health systems. The UN is also
launching a $2bn appeal, which donor
governments must support.
The practical reasons for
international co-operation are as
compelling as the moral imperative. If
the world fails to contain coronavirus
outbreaks in the poorest countries, and
among refugees, the virus will continue
to circulate around our interconnected
world. This is a disease which must be
beaten everywhere, or it will be beaten
nowhere.
Kevin Watkins
Chief Executive,
Save the ChildrenCan we never credit Russia
with altruistic motives?
The FT has been a beacon of sense and
balance amid the often febrile Covid-
reporting. In particular, you have called
for a global, all-for-one, one-for-all
international co-operation.
It was therefore sad to read “Putin
flexes soft power muscles with medical
airlift to Italy” (March 24), in which
Natalie Tocci, director of the Rome-
based Institute for International
Affairs, is quoted as saying: “Russia
needs a quick win, so it wants to act
fast. It does what Russia always does,
which is seize low-hanging fruit.”
So much, then, for not politicising
the global threat. Or does that apply
only when Russia is not involved?
David C Speedie
Charlottesville, VA, USMARCH 27 2020 Section:Features Time: 3/202026/ - 18:40 User: alistair.hayes Page Name:LEADER USA, Part,Page,Edition:USA , 16, 1