Tag: Climate Change

COVID-19 in the Arctic. How the EU’s new Arctic policy should take account of the pandemic
Covid-19 / DIE

COVID-19 in the Arctic. How the EU’s new Arctic policy should take account of the pandemic

“What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. It affects us all.”
The EU intends to play a pioneering role in the future, armed with a “clear and coherent Arctic policy”. If this is to succeed, the EU will need to take the lessons learned from the pandemic into account because COVID-19 has exacerbated existing inequalities and challenges in the region, particularly in terms of infrastructure and healthcare.

EU recovery plan: towards a greener recovery?
Covid-19 / IDDRI

EU recovery plan: towards a greener recovery?

The need for a greener recovery geared towards meeting environmental targets and climate neutrality, a subject of intense debate since the beginning of the crisis, is at the heart of the European recovery plan announced this week. The acceleration of the Green Deal is presented as one of the two pillars that should guide the European economic recovery, alongside the digital transition.

A chance to build a better future. From COVID-19 to climate action
Covid-19 / DIE

A chance to build a better future. From COVID-19 to climate action

The lockdowns in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 have had immediate effects on the environment and caused a dip in global CO2 emissions. Germany may even reach its climate target for 2020 according to forecasts. However, there is no reason to be cheerful. The pandemic and its consequences may seriously set back climate action around the globe.

Under what conditions can the Covid-19 pandemic be a catalyst towards more sustainable lifestyles?
Covid-19 / IDDRI

Under what conditions can the Covid-19 pandemic be a catalyst towards more sustainable lifestyles?

The measures taken to fight the Covid-19 pandemic are changing our daily lives. Many see this as an opportunity to initiate more sustainable behaviours, and even hope that this experience of imposed sobriety will be transformed into a real awareness in favour of more virtuous lifestyles for the environment.

The health crisis is shifting the lines between science, politics and society: getting a clearer picture
Covid-19 / IDDRI

The health crisis is shifting the lines between science, politics and society: getting a clearer picture

Scientists are particularly exposed in the current health crisis, where governments are using their advice to consolidate their decisions. Thus summoned as experts, also by the media, they find themselves both placed in collective responsibility, as is the case with the scientific council mobilised around the French government, and exposed individually. They also constitute a reference point, to which one can refer in order to gradually build up, as a citizen, an understanding of the situation. The role of science within society and in relation to the major political decisions that have to be made is thus extremely active, in various configurations, and subject to multiple pressures.

Covid-19 / DIE

Curb your enthusiasm: Corona may slow down multilateral process, but must not derail global climate policy

This is not to downplay the urgency of addressing the immediate impacts of the Corona crisis, but to turn towards a sustainable way forward that avoids the dead ends of apparent quick-fix solutions. Short-term economic impacts, as a result of Corona containment policies, are unavoidable. Yet, the very reason why climate action was not pushed forward hitherto was due to concerns on short-term economic impacts, notwithstanding the prospect of substantial gains in the long-run. Hence, the current disruptions should help rather than hinder policy adjustments and investments that pursue emissions reductions and a responsible use of natural resources while at the same time creating decent jobs and stimulating economic growth.

Covid-19 / DIE

From a health crisis to a migration crisis? How we will need to tackle climate migration post-coronavirus

Rising case numbers are highlighting how the coronavirus crisis is escalating, both globally and in Germany. Some people have already begun to ask themselves a delicate question: besides the medical and societal challenges brought on by the pandemic, could we also find new forms of cooperation? Might we also take a different approach to other global problems afterwards?