It's tragic that only the threat of a deadly disease could compel such a change, but perhaps we may find other levers to help us achieve such widespread beneficial changes in the future?
A total shutdown of the entire world economy on an unprecedented scale still doesn't track enough to prevent climate change.
If that isn't a clear indicator of how severe the situation is then I don't know what else is.
There's some additional work for things like replacing steam reformation with electrolysis or thermochemical hydrogen production. Decarbonization of air and sea transportation presents a bigger challenge but it's not unsolvable.