This Way Forward

Climate experts speaking to CGTN claim the COVID-19 outbreak was in part caused by environmental damage. They point to the believed origin of the virus and the breakdown of natural boundaries between humans and animals.

In this final edition of Notes on a Pandemic, we look at the impact the coronavirus has had on the global environment. We examine the dramatic fall in CO2 emissions during lockdown, which caught even climatologists by surprise and ask if the pandemic may have handed policymakers a window of opportunity for long-term change. 

We look at the future of both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources in aiding the world economy, as it begins its slow recovery.  

Notes on a Pandemic is written and presented by Louise Greenwood. Additional production by Katherine Berjikian 

Travel and tourism has felt the full impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

The lockdown in March led to mothballed planes, closed airports and quarantined cruise liners around the world. For some, it’s prompting a rethink of the entire travel industry, at a time when many top destinations were operating at maximum capacity.

In this podcast we examine what holidays in the future may look like, and how better to balance the needs of supply and demand as tourism continues to rise along with income in new markets.

Travel and Play is the fifth episode in the Notes on a Pandemic series from CGTN’s This Way Forward.

Notes on a Pandemic is written and presented by Louise Greenwood. Additional production by Katherine Berjikian 

Whether you are the boss in a company employing thousands or the newest hire in the office, COVID  is changing how all of us earn a living. The lockdown has seen millions working remotely from home, many benefiting from government support packages to keep their jobs open .

 Economists are warning that the long term furlough in workers risks exacerbating inequalities in the jobs market, while issues of stress and isolation as well as the strains of childcare have taken their toll. For others however, lockdown has given a unique opportunity to create the career of their dreams, away from the politics of office life. 

Notes on a Pandemic is written and presented by Louise Greenwood. Additional production by Katherine Berjikian 

In the third episode of our new podcast series Notes on a Pandemic, CGTN Europe examines how workplaces are adapting to the new culture of social distancing.

We hear how the biggest office space in Scotland has had to change mid-construction to accommodate the demands of post-pandemic working. And we speak to the creators of new tech devices that are helping existing workplaces stay open. 

We also visit one London animation studio that took the radical decision to completely close its new headquarters, just days ahead of the UK lockdown. 

And, crucially, we ask if the office as we know it has a future at all?

Notes on a Pandemic is written and presented by Louise Greenwood. Additional production by Katherine Berjikian 

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the podcast stated that the cost of the Virgin Money headquarters in Glasgow was $3.5 million. The cost of the development has since been corrected to $250 million in the podcast. An earlier version of the podcast also said the building will be the biggest single office space in Scotland. This has been corrected to say the building will be the largest office building in Glasgow. 

As Europe slowly emerges from lockdown it’s becoming clear the pandemic has left a legacy that will mean long-term changes to business, the world of work and the global environment. But despite the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken, might it also have handed us the opportunity to build a fairer, more sustainable future, based on innovation, cooperation and technological progress?

In the second of CGTN's new podcast series Notes on a Pandemic we look at how businesses large and small, and individuals from an array of backgrounds have come together to create a collective response to the pandemic.

CGTN Europe speaks to the hospital architects tasked with the challenge of creating an extra 22,000 acute care beds in the UK in a matter of weeks. For the Nightingale Hospital project, professionals from the building industry worked alongside healthcare staff and the military to pull off the mammoth task.

Elsewhere, we hear from a 3D printing firm in Czechia that designed a face-shield template that went viral around the world after being published on the internet.

Notes on a Pandemic is written and presented by Louise Greenwood.

The production assistant is Katherine Berjikian.

CGTN's new podcast series "Notes on a Pandemic" looks at how business, science and people have risen to the challenges of COVID-19, bringing us solutions which will change all our futures.

Science rules - Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, the world has looked to the scientific community to find an effective treatment. 

 The top minds in the pharmaceutical industry have been working at full speed on  possible medical solutions - and the hunt for a vaccine that would normally take years has been fast-tracked to a matter of months. 

 In the first in CGTN’s new podcast series "Notes from a Pandemic", we speak to medical professionals that were frontline in the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa to find out how previous pandemics have informed our response to COVID-19 and ask if lessons from previous pandemics in the developing world were properly learnt.

 We examine how the pharmaceutical sector is being reshaped by the many agencies involved in the search for a cure and by the billions being spent by governments, private sector providers and philanthropic donors.

 And we hear from some of the world's top virologists and public health experts as they explain why COVID-19 has proved to be such a challenge.

"Notes on a Pandemic" is written and presented by Louise Greenwood.

The production assistant is Katherine Berjikian.