What is it about?
COVID-19 and climate change have much in common. • They both threaten humans; they have both led us to make changes in how we live. They are both particularly bad for vulnerable populations – people who are disadvantaged either because of their health, or because of their economic status. • Scientists are studying both, but there still remains a lot that is unknown. In both cases, we are still trying to work out what the long-term effects might be. In both cases, gaps in what we know sometimes get filled with information that isn’t true. • They are both happening on a global scale, and both need to be tackled with international co-operation.
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Why is it important?
KEY TAKEAWAY: Both climate change and COVID-19 represent a growing trend: threats that affect everyone around the world, and where both the causes and the solutions a complex mix of political, economic, social and technological factors. These kinds of threats need strong governance at international, national and local levels. In the case of COVID-19, governments acted relatively quickly and firmly. This same kind of leadership is needed in tackling the challenges of climate change.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Interactions between two existential threats: COVID-19 and climate change, Climate Risk Management, January 2021, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.crm.2021.100363.
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Resources
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Global Warming and the ‘Polarized’ North-South Debate
The North–South divide makes it harder to work together to tackle climate change. All countries need to feel they are equally represented, and that goals are fair for all, if we are to make progress together.
Climate Change Knowledge Cooperative
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