guest column:Peter Makwanya THE coronavirus pandemic brought with it untold suffering throughout the world and has become the new normal as movement remains restricted in an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic. As its impact is felt, many countries missed the opportunity to narrow the digital divide and fight climate change. The pandemic disarmed everyone, stalled progress, affected all deadlines and turned planning upside down. However, this was a missed opportunity to bridge the digital divide, enhance and accelerate livelihoods recovery. As rhetoric became the new normal, focus and attention were shifted from ongoing efforts to support livelihoods and adapt. Climate recoveries were sidelined, while ongoing efforts to fight it were left for another day. While assumptions were allowed to override common sense, foresight and vision, quite a number of countries chose to invest in rhetoric as opposed to reality. The discourse of online learning, online planning, conferencing, zooming and online working, in the comfort of our homes became topical. As the outdoors were declared no-go areas, climate change adaptations suffered, low-carbon pathways got affected, emission targets got disrupted, so were the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and pre-defined time-lines. In this regard, would it be agenda 2030, 2050 or 2060, nobody knows when and how. Was this an opportunity for companies to bypass the emission targets, benchmarks and pollute more, as these were considered an essential sector, mining and manufacturing had to go on? Agricultural production was to be maximised, including combatting agricultural — COVID-19 market-related losses. Some vital research opportunities were left incomplete or abandoned, paving the way for speculations and assumptions. These were supposed to be ongoing and lifelong. Climate adaptation and mitigation programmes targeting the poor, the marginalised and vulnerable appeared forgotten and less essential. Opportunities for meaningful climate interventions were lost as the pandemic defined new costs of simple green technologies designed to strengthen human preparedness and transform human livelihoods. The digital divide got widened as one and the most essential component of climate engagement and recovery, the mobile phone, whether smart or not, became more expensive and out of reach. This meant target situations, audiences and stakeholders could not interact, identify climate recovery opportunities and diversify. As the pandemic is still in the background but now showing signs of thawing, it means climate change adaptation programmes can now resume as these are highly outdoor rather than indoor specific. Digital divide, which is about glaring and ever-widening information communication technology (ICT) inequalities and access to resources in terms of socio-economic situations between the vulnerable marginal communities and the rich continues to widen, it sidelines the majority of stakeholders. The gender divide in terms of access to ICTs need to be narrowed so that women realise th