COVID-19 and the Climate Agenda

Below is are a number of WEBINARS recordings related to the link between COVID-19 and the Climate Change Agenda. (in chronological order)

27 April 2020. Climate Change and COVID-19: Can this crisis shift the paradigm?
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy is skidding into recession. Reduced consumption and transportation also mean reduced CO2 emissions. From India to China to the United States, skies are blue and the air is cleaner and healthier in cities than it has been for years. 

The pandemic has caused seismic shifts in how we produce and consume goods and could open a path to a more sustainable future. Or, government bailouts and investments could double down on the fossil fuel economy, and set back efforts to avoid catastrophic climate change. This conversation featured Berkeley researchers discussing the science and policy behind CO2 emissions and opportunities for a different path forward.

21 April 2020. COVID-19 and Climate Change.
A special MSc Climate Change, Management and Finance lecture on how COVID-19 will affect action on climate change - organiser: Imperial College Business School.

20 April 2020. Webinar: Confronting climate change in the global COVID-19 recovery.

Brookings joined with the NDC Partnership to host a webinar with experts on climate plan implementation for a discussion about how recovering from the pandemic and investing in climate resiliency align.

16 April 2020 “How COVID-19 Affects the Energy and Climate Agenda” (by EU Delegation in the United States)

Questions remain on how to ensure that the global recovery will be sustainable in economic and environmental terms, and what impact the health and economic crisis will have on climate and energy policies, and on the climate ambition worldwide. Join a virtual policy discussion on the implications of the COVID-19 crisis and future pathways to recovery

7 April 2020. Learning from COVID to fight Climate change
What do climate change and pandemics have in common? Although experts have long warned of the dire consequences of these threats, the world remains woefully unprepared to solve them. Yet, as governments have taken drastic actions to respond to COVID-19, there have been significant unintended climate benefits globally, such as decreased air and water pollution. What lessons can we learn from this pandemic to tackle climate change? Over the long-term, what strategies and behaviors could societies adopt to maintain and expand these gains?

24 March 2020. COVID-19 AND CLIMATE: HUMAN RESPONSE

Why does an invisible, life-threatening virus prompt a nationwide emergency, but invisible, life-threatening gases don’t? Experts have been emphasizing the dangers of unchecked climate change for years, underscoring the need for rapid, bold action early-on to avoid the worst impacts. Now, health experts are pushing the same level of global mobilization to quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Why are humans wired to respond to some fears and emergencies more than others? Can the reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic teach us anything about how humans respond to other invisible, worldwide threats? 

• Peter Atwater, adjunct economics professor at the College of William and Mary, 
• Susan Clayton, Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology at the College of Wooster, 
• Robert Frank, economics professor at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and author of Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work.