Nouvelle
COVID-19 and the Environment

Publié: 11 Jan 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that affects everyone. Various articles have been published in the past weeks on the environmental causes and the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This page aims at listing relevant information, research, data and/or press releases issued by our partners in Geneva and other institutions around the world.
All United to End the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis that affects everyone.
As mentioned by the UN Secretary General in his call for solidarity, “We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations — one that is spreading human suffering, infecting the global economy and upending people’s lives.” He also added “We must ensure that lessons are learned and that this crisis provides a watershed moment for health emergency preparedness and for investment in critical 21st century public services and the effective delivery of global public goods. We have a framework for action – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We must keep our promises for people and planet.”
For general reliable information on COVID-19, please consult:
- WHO updates on COVID-19
- United Nations COVID-19 Information Portal
- Geneva State Council recommendations & information on COVID-19
- Update by the Geneva Cantonal Doctor
- Swiss Confederation updates on COVID-19 in Swizerland
- International Geneva resource pages on COVID-19
- CAGI Covid-19 Resource Centre
United to end the pandemic, get information from additional reliable sources:
- UN Response to COVID-19
- UN report on socio-economic impacts of COVID-19
- PAGE: COVID-19 Hub – Policy responses today will shape future economies
- OHCHR: COVID-19 and its human rights dimensions
- ILO: COVID-19 and the world of work
- UNECE: Observatory on Border Crossings Status due to COVID-19 | Platform for National Statistical offices (NSOs) | Food Outlook | Data Sources on Coronavirus impact on Transport
- UNCTAD | monitoring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on manufacturing, trade, foreign direct investment and economic growth
- UN Statistics | How Covid-19 is changing the world – a statistical perspective (13 May 2020)
- WTO | COVID-19 and the world of trade
- ITU | Policy and Regulatory experiences and best practices that can improve COVID-19 responses
- IOM | Migration and COVID-19
- IPU | Parliaments in a time of pandemic
- Launch of $2 billion global humanitarian response plan to fund the fight against COVID-19 in the world’s most fragile countries (25 March 2020)
- Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime | #CovidCrimeWatch -the weekly newsletter exploring existing and emerging interactions between COVID-19 and the illicit economy
- WBCSD | How business is responding to COVID-19
- UNEP & TED-Ed | “Earth School” launches to keep students connected to nature in the time of COVID-19
COVID-19 and the Environment
Various articles have been published in the past weeks on the environmental causes and the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This page aims at listing relevant information, research, data and/or press releases issued by our partners in Geneva and other institutions around the world.
Other resource pages on COVID-19 and the environment:
- UNEP | Resource page on COVID-19
- Environmental Emergencies Center (UNEP/OCHA Joint Unit) | Resource page on COVID-19 and its impact on the humanitarian response system and environment
- UN Cooperation in the UNECE region | COVID-19, the environment and climate change
- IOM | The COVID-19 Pandemic, Migration and the Environment
- WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19
- WMO | COVID-19 dedicated webpage
- IUCN Resources on COVID-19
- PAGE COVID-19 Observatory
- IISD Sustainable Recovery 2020
- OECD Focus on green recovery
- Energy Policy Tracker database (latest information about COVID-19 government policy responses from a climate and energy perspective)
- Platform for Redesign 2020 (Ministry of the Environment Japan, UNFCCC, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies)
- GENeva Environment Dialogues’ series on the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Global Environmental Agenda
Origins of COVID-19 and Prevention
While the origin of the outbreak and its transmission pathway are yet to be asserted, we know diseases passed from animals to humans (zoonotic diseases) are on the rise, as the world continues to see unprecedented destruction of wild habitats by human activity. “Nature is sending us a message with the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis” according to the UN’s environment chief, Inger Andersen and other environmental experts.
According to IPBES report released in October 2020, future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, do more damage to the world economy and kill more people than COVID-19 unless there is a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases. The same human activities that drive climate change and biodiversity loss also drive pandemic risk through their impacts on our environment. Changes in the way we use land; the expansion and intensification of agriculture; and unsustainable trade, production and consumption disrupt nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people.
- One Planet Summit: launch of PREZODE, a first-ever international initiative to prevent future pandemics | CIRAD News | 11 January 2021
- International Day of Epidemic Preparedness | United Nations | 27 December
- Environment and COVID-19: Pollutants, impacts, dissemination, management and recommendations for facing future epidemic threats | Winfred Espejo, José E. Celis, et al. | Science of the Total Environment | 10 December 2020
- IPBES Pandemic Report : ‘Escaping the Era of Pandemics’ | Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) | December 2020
- The link between biodiversity loss and the increasing spread of zoonotic diseases | European Union | December 2020
- China wildlife crime prosecutions up sharply after COVID-19 outbreak | Reuters | 10 November 2020
- COVID-19 and Europe’s environment: impacts of a global pandemic | European Environment Agency | 5 November 2020
- The COVID-19 challenge: Zoonotic diseasesand wildlife | Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management | October 2020
- Escaping the ‘Era of Pandemics’: Experts Warn Worse Crises to Come Options Offered to Reduce Risk | IPBES | 29 October 2020
The experts agree that escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but that this will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention. COVID-19 is at least the sixth global health pandemic since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, and although it has its origins in microbes carried by animals, like all pandemics its emergence has been entirely driven by human activities. It is estimated that another 1.7 million currently ‘undiscovered’ viruses exist in mammals and birds – of which up to 827,000 could have the ability to infect people. - The Evolving War on Illegal Wildlife Trade | Tany Rosen | IISD | 6 October 2020
- Historic Amazon rainforest fires threaten climate and raise risk of new diseases | Kerry William Bowman | The Conversation | 1 October 2020
- It is Time for a Global Wildlife Health Authority | William Karesh, Richard Kock, Catherine Machalaba | IUCN | 17 September 2020
- Rampant destruction of forests ‘will unleash more pandemics’ | Robin McKie | The Guardian | 30 August 2020
- Zoonotic host diversity increases in human-dominated ecosystems | Gibb, R., Redding, D.W., Chin, K.Q. et al. | Nature | 5 August 2020
- Fighting COVID-19 could cost 500 times as much as pandemic prevention measures | Jeremy Schwab | WEF and Futirity | 3 August 2020
- Preventing the next pandemic will cost $22.2 billion a year, scientists say | NBC News | 23 July 2020
- Human health, animal health and environmental health are inextricably linked| Inger Andersen and Jimmy Smith | Mail & Guardian | 12 July 2020
- Preventing the next pandemic – Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission | UNEP | 6 July 2020
- Nature is sending us a message: Biodiversity loss and wildlife trade as causes of pandemics – German Ministry for the Environment (BMU) | John Scanlon | 29 June 2020
- How deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans | Amy Y. Vittor, Gabriel Zorello Laporta, Maria Anice Mureb Sallum | The Conversation | 25 June 2020
- How regulation of endangered wildlife trade can prevent the next pandemic | Ivonne Higuero (CITES) | South China Morning Post | 21 June 2020
- COVID 19: urgent call to protect people and nature | WWF | June 2020
- Coronavirus is a warning to us to mend our broken relationship with nature | Marco Lambertini, Elizabeth Mrema and Maria Neira | The Guardian | 17 June 2020
- Pandemics result from destruction of nature, say UN and WHO | Damina Carrington | The Guardian | 17 June 2020
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- Protect landscapes to protect humanity | UNEP | 16 June 2020
- A Crucial Step Toward Preventing Wildlife-Related Pandemics | Dan Ashe & John E. Scanlon | Scientific American | 15 June 2020
- Covid-19 and New Zealand’s Role in the Global Illegal Wildlife Trade | Fiona Gordon | Journal of African Elephants | 10 June 2020
- Ignore the conspiracy theories: scientists know Covid-19 wasn’t created in a lab | Peter Daszak | The Guardian | 9 June 2020
- Coronavirus rips through Dutch mink farms, triggering culls to prevent human infections | Martin Enserink | 9 June 2020
- COVID-19 Is a Symptom of a Bigger Problem: Our Planet’s Ailing Health | Inger Andersen and Johan Rockström | Times | 5 June 2020
- Coronavirus is an ‘SOS signal for the human enterprise’ | Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 5 June 2020
- Coronavirus shows we must change our economy to recognise that human wealth depends on nature’s health | Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Inger Andersen | Independent | 5 June 2020
- Global emergence of infectious diseases: links with wild meat consumption, ecosystem disruption, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss | FAO | 5 June 2020
- Protect the environment, prevent pandemics, ‘nature is sending us a clear message’ | UN News | 4 June 2020
- Make transformative changes to protect environment or endure incalculable suffering – UN rights expert | SR Environment | 4 June 2020
- Overselling wildlife trade bans will not bolster conservation or pandemic preparedness | Evan A. Eskew and Colin J. Carlson | The Lancet Planetary Health | 1 June 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Facsheet – Zoonotic Diseases | UNEP | May 2020
- Why the wildlife trade convention failed to prevent Covid-19 | Don Pinnock | Daily Maverick | 27 May 2020
- ‘This makes Chinese medicine look bad’: TCM supporters condemn illegal wildlife trade| Michael Standaert | The age of extinction (The Guardian) | 26 May 2020
- ‘Ban on bushmeat’ after Covid-19 but what if alternative is factory farming? | John Vidal | The Guardian | 26 May 2020
- Science points to causes of COVID-19 | UNEP | 22 May 2020
- Everything on our planet is interconnected – and we are part of the equation | WWF | 21 May 2020
- WWF urges China to set a global example as it mulls revision of the Wildlife Protection Law | WWF | 21 May 2020
- Wuhan officially bans eating wild animals in crackdown on illegal wildlife trade | Imogen Braddick | Evening Standard | 20 May 2020
- UNEP steps up work on zoonotics, protecting environment to reduce pandemic risks | UNEP | 12 May 2020
- Diseases jumping from animals to humans is not new – it has long been deadly, but we can learn from it | Eric Fevre and Naomi Marks | The Telegraph | 12 May 2020
- Wildlife trade: Regulated markets involving local communities, ‘essential’ to balance humans and nature | UN News | 11 May 2020
- What are zoonotic diseases and what can we do about them? | Deanna Conners | EarthSky | 7 May 2020
- There are no winners in the illegal trade in wildlife | Ivonne Higuero (CITES SG) | UNEP | 5 May 2020
- La prochaine pandémie est prévisible, il est temps de prendre au sérieux la crise écologique | Collectif de 120 scientifiques | Le Temps | 5 May 2020
- Jane Goodall : « Prenons conscience que la pandémie est liée à notre manque de respect pour le monde naturel » | Jane Goodall | Le Monde | 2 May 2020
- Perspective on protecting nature in the midst of a pandemic | Thomas Lovejoy (UN Foundation and a & George Mason University) | One Earth | 1 May 2020
- Stopping Deforestation Can Prevent Pandemics | Scientific American | 1 May 2020
- Health & Conservation Leaders Issue Joint Call to Shut Down High-Risk Wildlife Markets to Help Curb Future Outbreaks | WWF Int | 29 April 2020
- A Global Call to Action on COVID-19 and Wildlife Trade | Health & Consevation Leaders | April 2020
- IPBES Guest Article: COVID-19 Stimulus Measures Must Save Lives, Protect Livelihoods, and Safeguard Nature to Reduce the Risk of Future Pandemics | Josef Settele, Sandra Díaz and Eduardo Brondizio and Peter Daszak | IPBES | 27 April 2020
- To prevent the next pandemic, we must transform our relationship with nature | Gavin Edwards (Global Coordinator, New Deal for Nature & People, WWF International) | Medium | 24 April 2020
- How nature can protect us from pandemics | UNEP | 24 April 2020
- For better or for worse: the delicate relationship between people and the wildlife around them | UNEP | 23 April 2020
- The future beyond COVID-19 requires rebuilding planetary health | Robert Nasi & Tony Simons | Landscape News | 22 April 2020
- Perché la scomparsa di una foresta tropicale è connessa con la mia salute in Italia? | Francesco De Augustinis | CorriereTv | 21 April 2020
- OPINION: Why I have high hopes for nature this Earth Day | Naoko Ishii (GEF) | Thomson Reuters | 17 April 2020
- How to prevent the next COVID-19? Conservationists weigh in | Malavika Vyawahare | Mongabay | 17 April 2020
- COVID-19 pandemic: How nature steps in to refill ‘empty forests’ when animals disappear | John E. Fa, Robert Nasi and Julie Mollins | CIFOR | 17 April 2020
- Coronavirus: three misconceptions about how animals transmit diseases debunked | Olivier Restif (University of Cambridge) | The Conversation | 16 April 2020
- Wildlife Trade, Origins of COVID-19, and Preventing Future Pandemics | John Scanlon | 15 April 2020
- Position statement: managing wildlife trade in the context of COVID-19 and future zoonotic pandemics | Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science | University of Oxford | 15 April 2020
- ‘We need to work together and follow the science‘ | Gustavo Fonseca | GEF | 14 April 2020
- COVID-19 and nature are linked. So should be the recovery | Marie Quinney | WEF | 14 April 2020
- Inger Andersen (ONU): Auxiliar a la naturaleza será el gran muro frente a las pandemias | Amaya Quincoces & Pedro Alonso | EFE | 12 April 2020
- Jane Goodall says ‘disrespect for animals’ caused pandemic | Stéphane Orjollet | AFP | 11 April 2020
- We need to fundamentally transform our relationship with the natural world to reduce the risk of disease | Elizabeth Maruma Mrema (Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity) | The Independent | 10 April 2020
- A message from the Secretary of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, Miguel Clusener-Godt, on the COVID-19 crisis | UNESCO | 10 April 2020
- Will the next coronavirus come from Amazonia? Deforestation and the risk of infectious diseases (commentary) | Philip M. Fearnside | Mongabay | 8 April 2020
- Coronavirus: why a blanket ban on wildlife trade would not be the right response | Dan Challender (Chair of the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group) et al. | The Conversation | 8 April 2020
- Interview : « La pandémie de Covid-19 montre qu’il est possible de réduire l’impact de l’activité économique sur l’environnement » (Lee White, ministre des Forêts du Gabon) | La libreville | 8 April 2020
- Cradle of the Virus: How Forests are the Source of and Solution to Emergent Pathogens | Craig Beatty | WWF | 8 April 2020
- Six nature facts related to coronaviruses | UNEP | 8 April 2020
- Stanford researchers show how forest loss leads to spread of disease | Rob Jordan | Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment | 8 April 2020
- Human impact on wildlife to blame for spread of viruses, says study | John Vidal | The Guardian (The age of extinction) | 8 April 2020
- Global shifts in mammalian population trends reveal key predictors of virus spillover risk | Christine K. Johnson et al | The Royal Society | 8 April 2020
- Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Health Day (see appendix on COVID-19, zoonotic disease, biodiversity and human health) | Convention on Biological Diversity | 7 April 2020
- The Imperative of Ending Wildlife Crime | John Scanlon | Global Social Leaders | 7 April 2020
- Connecting human and wildlife health key to stave off the next pandemic | John Scanlon | 7 April 2020
- Probable Pangolin Origin of SARS-CoV-2Associated with the COVID-19 Outbreak | Zhang et al. | Current Biology, 30, 1346–1351 | 6 April 2020
- Open letter to World Health Organisation – COVID-19: Health risks and wildlife[1] markets – the need for a permanent global ban on wildlife markets and a highly precautionary approach to wildlife trade | From world’s wildlife groups | 6 April 2020
- High risk markets must close | WWF | 6 April 2020
- Why we must close high-risk wildlife markets | WWF USA, 6 April 2020
- Public Calls for Governments to Close S.E. Asia’s Wildlife Markets in Response to COVID-19 | GlobaScan | 6 April 2020
- Ban wildlife markets to avert pandemics, says UN biodiversity chief | Patrick Greenfield | The Guardian (The age of extinsion) | 6 April 2020
- Wildlife trade, COVID-19 and zoonotic disease risks: shaping the response | TRAFFIC | 6 April 2020
- How to prevent outbreaks of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 | Maxwell Gomera | aljazeera | 5 April 2020
- Coronaviruses: are they here to stay? | UNEP | 3 April 2020
- Coronaviruses: Contagious Beasts and Where to Find Them | Anatoly Kozlov | The Science breaker (partnership with Unige) | 3 April 2020
- We need our tropical forests more than ever | Jeff Conant of Friends of Earth | Medium | 1 April 2020
- Our environmental practices make pandemics like the coronavirus more likely | Sigal Samuel | Vox | 31 March 2020
- Coronavirus won’t be the last outbreak. Climate change, waning habitat will drive disease | Amanda Morris | Arizona Republic | 30 March 2020
- Coronavirus : « Les animaux qui nous ont infectés ne sont pas venus à nous ; nous sommes allés les chercher » | Ibrahim Thiaw (Executive Secretary of UNCCD) | Le Monde | 29 March 2020
- WCS Issues Policy on Reducing Risk of Future Zoonotic Pandemics | Wildlife Conservation Society | 28 March 2020
- Didier Sicard : “Il est urgent d’enquêter sur l’origine animale de l’épidémie de Covid-19” | France Culture | 27 March 2020
- Expert: To prevent pandemics like COVID-19, ‘take care of nature’ | Kiley Price | Conservation International | 27 March 2020
- Identifying SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins | Lam, T.T., Shum, M.H., Zhu, H. et al. | Nature | 26 March 2020
- Trafficked pangolins can carry coronaviruses closely related to pandemic strain | Rachael Bale | National Geographic | 26 March 2020
- Coronavirus: ‘Nature is sending us a message’, says UN environment chief | Damian Carrington in The Guardian | 25 March 2020
- It takes a whole world to create a new virus, not just China | Laura Spinney in The Guardian | 25 March 2020
- Covid-19 ou la pandémie d’une biodiversité maltraitée | Philippe Grandcolas & Jean-Lou Justine | The Conversation | 25 March 2020
- The Imperative of Ending Wildlife Crime | John Scanlon (Special Envoy, African Parks) | IISD SDG knowledge hub guest blog | 24 March 2020
- Congress Urged to Address Wildlife Issues Linked to Virus | Ellen M. Gilmer in Bloomberg environment | 24 March 2020
- Coronavirus origins: genome analysis suggests two viruses may have combined | Alexandre Hassanin | published by World Economic Forum in collaboration with The Conversation | 20 March 2020
- ‘Tip of the iceberg’: is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19? | John Vidal | The Guardian | 18 March 2020
- Destruction of habitat and loss of biodiversity are creating the perfect conditions for diseases like COVID-19 to emerge | John Vidal | Ensia | 17 March 2020
- Coronavirus and the ‘Pangolin Effect’: Increased exposure to wildlife poses health, biosafety and global security risks | Daniel Mira-Salama | in WorldBank Blog | 17 March 2020
- CITES Secretariat’s statement in relation to COVID-19 | CITES | 17 March 2020
- Scientists link outbreaks such as Covid-19 to biodiversity loss | Scientists link outbreaks such as Covid-19 to biodiversity loss | hindunstan times | 15 March 2020
- How biodiversity loss is hurting our ability to combat pandemics | John Scott | World Economic Forum | 9 March 2020
- Coronavirus outbreak highlights need to address threats to ecosystems and wildlife | UNEP | 3 March 2020
- Time to end the scourge of wildlife crime | John Scanlon | the Independent | 3 March 2020
- Questions and Answers on the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) | World Organization for Animal Health (regularly updated)
- Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Think Again | Sonia Shah | The Nation | 18 February 2020
- 2019-nCoV in context: lessons learned? | Richard Kock et al. | The Lancet Planetary Health | 6 February 2020
- A strategy to prevent future epidemics similar to the 2019-nCoV outbreak | Peter Daszak, Kevin J. Olival and Hongying Li | ScienceDirect | 5 February 2020
Chemicals and Waste Management
In this section: Chemicals & Waste Negotiations | Waste Management | Plastic and Reusable Items | Exposure to Hazardous Substances
Chemicals & Waste Negotiations
- 2020: A “green switch” for chemicals and waste? | Ekaterina Mikhaylova | CIEL | 23 July 2020
Waste Management
With COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread, national and local governments are urged to treat waste management, including medical, household and other hazardous waste, as an urgent and essential public service in order to minimise possible secondary impacts upon health and the environment.
- Pandemic-sparked IT Purchases Force 47 percent of Global Enterprises to Focus on E-Waste | Blancco | 17 November 2020
- Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: from response to recover | UNEP | 12 August 2020
- Marine litter and the challenge of sustainable consumption and production | UNEP | 15 July 2020
- Gants et masques polluent les grands fleuves européens | Tribune de Genève | 12 July 2020
- How monitoring sewage could prevent a return of the coronavirus | UNEP | 7 July 2020
- Déchets – Vidéo Que faire des masques de protection usagés ? | Geneva Canton | 9 June 2020
- UNEP COVID_19 Factsheet – Waste management | UNEP | May 2020
- Factsheet on Environmentally Sound Management of Medical Waste | Basel Convention | April 2020
- Healthcare waste: what to do with it? | UNEP | 9 April 2020
- We found Patient Zero: It’s the historical injustice of our waste system | Denise Patel, Gaia | Medium | 9 April 2020
- Recommandations de la Confédération aux cantons concernant l’éli-mination des ordures ménagères et des déchets du secteur de la santé dans la situation extraordinaire liée au coronavirus | Swiss Federal Office for the Environment | 7 April 2020
- Waste management an essential public service in the fight to beat COVID-19 | UNEP | 24 March 2020
- Health care waste management: Corona virus update | Health Care Without Harm | 24 March 2020
- China disposes of 182,000 tonnes of medical waste amid COVID-19 outbreak | Xinhua | 24 March 2020
- Waste management an essential public service in the fight to beat COVID-19 | The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions | 20 March 2020
- Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus: interim guidance | WHO | 19 March 2020
- Municipal waste management and COVID-19 | Association of Cities and Regions for sustainable Resource management. (regularly updated)
- COVID-19 Response – International knowledge sharing on Waste Management | International Solid Waste Association (regularly updated)
- Discarded coronavirus masks clutter Hong Kong’s beaches, trails | Farah Master & Yoyo Chow | Reuters | 12 March 2020
Plastic and Reusable Items
The fight against plastic pollution is being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the use of disposable masks, gloves and other protective equipment soars. Plastic does not inherently make something clean and safe. Experts are proposing to bring back the bring-your-own-cup scheme. UN agencies and partners insist that, if effective measures are put into place, the amount of plastics discarded every year can be significantly cut, or even eliminated.
- What we need to know about PPE associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the marine environment | Gabriel E. De-la-Torrea & Tadele Assefa Aragaw | Marine Pollution Bulletin | February 2021
- Due to the new challenges presented by the use of single-use PPE during COVID19 pandemic, the work of the UNEP Ad-Hoc open-ended expert group on Marine Litter and microplastics has gained even more importance | Earth Negotiations Bulletin for AHEG-4 | 9 November 2020
- The Plastic Pandemic: COVID-19 trashed the recycling dream | Joe Brock | Reuters Special Report | 5 October 2020
- COVID-19 exacerbated the plastic pollution crisis. Here’s how we’re fighting back. | Kristin Hughes | World Economic Forum | 23 September 2020
- Plastic pollution plagues Southeast Asia amid Covid-19 lockdowns | Tashny Sukumaran | 9 August 2020
- Single use, dangerous misuse: on the war against plastic during COVID-19 | Nidhi Adlakha | The Hindu | 4 Augsut 2020
- Five things you should know about disposable masks and plastic pollution | UN News | 30 July 2020
- Growing plastic pollution in wake of COVID-19: how trade policy can help | UNCTAD | 27 July 2020
- The plastic pandemic is only getting worse during COVID-19 | Jacob Duer (Alliance to end plastic waste) | WEF | 1 July 2020
- COVID-19 Pandemic Repercussions on the Use and Management of Plastics | Joana C. Prata, Ana L.P. Silva, Tony R. Walker, et al. | Environmental Science & Technology | American Chemical Society | 1 July 2020
- Covid-19 has led to a pandemic of plastic pollution | Times | 22 June 2020
- EU dismisses industry calls to lift ban on single-use plastics | Frédéric Simon | EURACTIV | 15 April 2020
- Yet Another Consequence of the Pandemic: More Plastic Waste | Matt Simon | WIRED | 13 April 2020
- A la faveur de la crise sanitaire, le plastique à usage unique fait son retour en force | Dorothée Moisan | Le Monde | 12 April 2020
- Covid-19 and plastic pollution: we can and should fight both | Ian Lo, ambassador, A Plastic Ocean Foundation | South China Morning Post | 12 April 2020
- Plastics: The coronavirus could reset the clock | Grzegorz Peszko | WorldBank Blog | 7 April 2020
- Plastic Pollution, Reuse, and COVID-19 | UPSTREAM Team | Break Free from Plastic Blog | 26 March 2020
- How the plastic industry is exploiting anxiety about COVID-19 | Ivy Schlegel | Greenpeace USA | 26 March 2020
- Industry should not exploit COVID-19 to push more plastic pollution | Perry Wheeler | Greenpeace | 24 March 2020
Exposure to Hazardous Substances
Hosing down migrants and workers with bleach to ‘disinfect’ them is a ghastly and inhumane practice to combat COVID-19, said UN Special Rapporteur on toxic wastes. The Special Rapporteur appealed to States and businesses on the dire need to protect the brave doctors, nurses, first responders, and others on the front lines in this fight.
- “Every worker is essential and must be protected from COVID-19, no matter what” – UN rights experts | Special Rapporteurs | UN Human Rights | 18 May 2020
- Communiquer sur le risque des substances chimiques au temps du Covid-19 | Nathalie Chèvre (Ecotoxicologue, Maître d’enseignement et de recherche à l’Université de Lausanne) | 17 April 2020
- Mass disinfections to combat coronavirus pose another health hazard | Prasto Wardoyo, John Geddie | Reuters | 31 March 2020
- COVID-19: Health care heroes need protection – UN expert | UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes | 27 March 2020
Biodiversity and Wildlife
In this section: Impact on wildlife | Biodiversity Crisis
Impact on Wildlife and Conservation
COVID-19 is having an impact on animals. Great apes, of which seven species are already threatened by extinction, are potentially vulnerable to this new virus. Lockdowns and the loss of tourism revenue also create challenges for protecting wildlife. The cost of COVID-19 to zoos could mean extinction for the 77 species of plants and animals (at least) that are extinct in the wild and exist only in zoological and botanical collections.
- Africa’s year of zero: a special report on the future of wildlife tourism | Sophy Roberts | Financial Times | 28 October 2020
- Coronavirus: Half a million sharks ‘could be killed for vaccine’, experts warn | Aisha Zahid | Sky News | 28 September 2020
- It is Time for a Global Wildlife Health Authority | William Karesh, Richard Kock, Catherine Machalaba | IUCN | 17 September 2020
- COVID-19 and Adaptive leadership | IUCN | 31 August 2020
- Six million Euros made available for conservation action to counter COVID-19 impacts | IUCN | 3 August 2020
- Extinct-in-the-wild species’ last stand | Science |
- Will Covid-19 tame China’s wildlife trade? | Christian Shepherd and Qianer Liu | Financial Time | 30 July 2020
- Coronavirus: New wildlife trade regime needed to avoid next pandemic | FT Interview | 9 July 2020
- Nature In All Goals 2020 | WWF | 8 July 2020
- Coronavirus lockdowns increase poaching in Asia, Africa | Aniruddha Ghosal and Michael Casey | AP | 22 June 2020
- The Invisible Trade Wild plants and you in the time of COVID-19 | TRAFFIC | 18 June 2020
- “We are very worried about Covid-19 spreading to great apes” – IUCN Geneva. Kyra Dupont | Geneva Solutions | 2 June 2020
- #CovidCrimeWatch – n°10 | WILDLIFE CRIME: RISE OR FALL? The Global Initiative | 27 May 2020
- What COVID-19 means for ecotourism. UNEP | 26 May 2020
- The wild animals at risk in lockdown. Alexander Matthews | BBC | 21 May 2020
- Conservation must not be a COVID victim. John Scanlon | The Independent | 13 May 2020
- There are no winners in the illegal trade in wildlife. Ivonne Higuero (CITES SG) | UNEP | 5 May 2020
- As wildlife tourism grounds to a halt, who will pay for the conservation of nature? Johan Robinson | Mongabay Conservation News | 23 April 2020
- Quarantining also means caring for our great ape relatives. Elizabeth L. Bennett (Vice President for Species Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society – WCS) | IUCN Crossroafds Blog | 15 April 2020
- Nature’s comeback? No, the coronavirus pandemic threatens the world’s wildlife. Charlie Gardner (University of Kent) | The Converstation | 8 April 2020
- Poaching threats loom as wildlife safaris put on hold due to COVID-19. Dina Fine Maron | National Geographic | 10 April 2020
- COVID-19—the role of wild plants in health treatment and why sustainability of their trade matters. Anastasiya Timoshyna, Ling Xu, Zhang Ke | TRAFFIC | 7 April 2020
- 3 ways the coronavirus is affecting animals around the world. Josephine Moulds | World Economic Forum | 7 April 2020
- Tiger tests positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo, first known case in the world. Natasha Daly | National Geographic | 5 April 2020
- The Coronavirus Lockdown Is a Threat for Many Animals, Not a Blessing. Matt Simon | WIRED | 4 April 2020
- Great apes and covid-19, an additional threat to already endangered species? UNESCO | 1 April 2020
- How zoos must change to keep great apes safe from coronavirus. Lesley Elizabeth Craig | The Conversation | 1 April 2020
- COVID-19-led ban on wild meat could take protein off the table for millions of forest dwellers. Robert Nasi and John E. Fa | CIFOR Forest news | 30 March 2020
- Wildlife rescue centres struggle to treat endangered species in coronavirus outbreak.Gloria Dickie | The Guardian | 28 March 2020
- Les humains sont confinés, la nature reprend ses droits. AFP | 28 March 2020
- Virus which causes COVID-19 threatens great ape conservation. UNEP | 25 March 2020
- Coronavirus poses lethal threat to great apes, experts warn. Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 24 March 2020
- COVID-19: protect great apes during human pandemics. Thomas R. Gillespie & Fabian H. Leendertz | Nature | 24 March 2020
- Great apes, COVID-19 and the SARS CoV-2. UCN SSC Wildlife Health Specialist Group and the Primate Specialist Group,Section on Great Apes | 15 March 2020
The Biodiversity Crisis
2020 was expected to be ‘Super Year for Nature,’ with a number of international meetings and negotiations (World Conservation Congress, UN Ocean Conference, UN Nature Summit and other preparatory meetings) leading to a global biodiversity conference that would agree on a decade-long ‘Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework’, and the acknowledgment of nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and additional benefits. Their postponement brings worries as we are loosing critical time to address the biodiversity crisis.
- Reflections on 2020 from a Nature Campaigner | Joanna Benn | The Nature Conservancy | 26 August 2020
- The biodiversity leader who is fighting for nature amid a pandemic | Smitri Mallapaty | nature | 30 June 2020
- The COVID-19 pandemic is not a break for nature – let’s make sure there is one after the crisis. Sebastian Troëng, Edward Barbier and Carlos Manuel Rodríguez |World Economic Forum | 21 may 2020.
- COVID-19 could help turn the tide on ocean health in Asia-Pacific. UN News | 13 May 2020.
- There are no winners in the illegal trade in wildlife. Ivonne Higuero (CITES SG) | UNEP | 5 May 2020.
- Biodiversity, pandemics and the circle of life. Joel Makower | GreenBiz | 20 April 2020.
- COVID-19 disrupts a major year for biodiversity policy and planning. James Dinneen | Mongabay | 3 April 2020.
- IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020 postponed. IUCN & France | 3 April 2020.
- Despite COVID-19, using wild species may still be the best way to save them. Dilys Roe | IIED Blog | 1 April 2020.
- „Die Pandemie ist ein game changer“. Thomas Krumenacker | Die Flugbegleiter | 31 March 2020.
- Applying the hard lessons of coronavirus to the biodiversity crisis. UNDP Blog | 27 March 2020.
Air Pollution
Researchers found that air pollution has intensified the pandemic. But the lockdown and related measures implemented by countries to stop the spread of COVID-19 have also led to a decrease in economic activities and drop in road transport, temporarly cleaning skies and decreasing levels of certain air pollutants.
- COVID-19: Air quality influences the pandemic | Mario B. Rohrer | Unige | 24 November 2020
- Pollution and pandemics: A dangerous mix | Brandie Jefferson | Washington University in Saint Louis | 12 November 2020
- Air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: Strengths and limitations of an ecological regression analysis | X. Wu, R. C. Nethery, M. B. Sabath, D. Braun, F. Dominici | Science Advances | 4 November 2020
- Regional and global contributions of air pollution to risk of death from COVID-19 | Andrea Pozzer and al. | Oxford University Press | 26 October 2020
- What Happens When Covid-19 Meets Toxic Air? India Is About to Find Out | The New York Times | 15 October 2020
- Methodological Considerations for Epidemiological Studies of Air Pollution and the SARS and COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreaks | Paul J. Villeneuve and Mark S. Goldberg | Environmental Health Perspectives | 9 September 2020
- Air pollution is returning to pre-covid levels | The economist | 5 September 2020
- Cooperation for clean air must be at the heart of a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis26 August 2020 | UNECE | 26 August 2020
- Does exposure to air pollution increase the risk of dying from the coronavirus (COVID-19)? | UK Office for National Statistics | 13 August 2020
- Air pollution exposure linked to higher COVID-19 cases and deaths – new study | WEF & The Conversation | 20 July 2020
- Latest research reinforces link between air pollution and serious Covid-19 illness | Heidi News | 18 July 2020
- Air pollution: Locked down by COVID-19 but not arrested | The World Bank | 2 July 2020
- Air pollution likely to make coronavirus worse, say UK government advisers | Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 1 July 2020
- Air pollution kills 7 million people a year – and probably makes COVID-19 more deadly: this week’s World Vs Virus podcast | Robin Pomeroy | WEF | 25 June 2020
- Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19 | Fei Liu et al. | Science Advances | 12 June 2020.
- No going back: European public opinion on air pollution in the Covid-19 era | Jens Müller | Transport & Environment | 10 June 2020
- Air Quality Strategy to Reduce Coronavirus infection. UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution | 29 May 2020.
- Cut air pollution to help avoid second coronavirus peak, MPs urge. Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 29 May 2020.
- The world needs a Healthy Recovery. 350 organisations representing over 40 million health professionals and over 4,500 individual health professionals from 90 different countries, wrote to the G20 leaders calling for a #HealthyRecovery | 26 May 2020
- Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement. Le Quere et al. | Nat. Clim. Chang. (2020) | 19 May 2020.
- Declines in air pollution due to COVID-19 lockdown show need for comprehensive emission reduction strategies. UNECE | 18 May.
- Cities champion cycling to head off traffic as COVID-19 restrictions ease. BreathLife | Climate and Clean Air Coalition | 13 May 2020.
- Mayor’s bold new Streetspace plan will overhaul London’s streets. Mayor of London | 6 May 2020.
- 11,000 air pollution-related deaths avoided in Europe as coal, oil consumption plummet. Lauri Myllyvirta | CREA | 30 April 2020.
- Risk of COVID-19 is associated with long-term exposure to air pollution. Huaiyu Tian et al. | medRxiv | 24 April 2020.
- SARS-Cov-2 RNA Found on Particulate Matter of Bergamo in Northern Italy: First Preliminary Evidence. Leonardo Setti et al. | medRxiv | 24 April 2020.
- Milan announces ambitious scheme to reduce car use after lockdown. Laura Laker | The Guardian | 21 April 2020.
- Air pollution, COVID-19 and death: The perils of bypassing peer review. Paul Villeneuve and Mark Goldberg | The Conversation | 21 April 2020.
- Air pollution linked to raised Covid-19 death risk. Navin Singh Khadka | BBC | 20 April 2020.
- Briefing on COVID-19 and Short-Lived Climate Pollutants. Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) | 16 April 2020.
- Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from China. Yongjian Zhu et al. | Science of the Total Environment | Available 15 April 2020.
- Coronavirus: lockdown’s effect on air pollution provides rare glimpse of low-carbon future. Paul Monks (University of Leicester) | The Conversation | 15 April 2020.
- OPINION: COVID-19, air pollution and cooking: a deadly connection. Hajia Samira Bawumia & Dymphna van der Lans | Thomson Reuters News | 15 April 2020.
- Two mechanisms for accelerated diffusion of COVID-19 outbreaks in regions with high intensity of population and polluting industrialization: the air pollution-to-human and human-to-human transmission dynamics. Mario Coccia | MedRxiv | 11 April 2020.
- Assessing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as a contributing factor to coronavirus (COVID-19) fatality. Yaron Ogen | Science of The Total Environment, Volume 726 | available 11 April 2020.
- ‘It’s positively alpine!’: Disbelief in big cities as air pollution falls. Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Rebecca Ratcliffe, Sam Cowie, Joe Parkin Daniels, Lily Kuo | The Guardian | 11 April 2020.
- Air pollution in times of corona. Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA). 9 April 2020.
- Mesures pour contenir la pandémie COVID-19 et la qualité de l’air. Swiss Federal Office for the Environment | 9 April 2020.
- Pollution made COVID-19 worse. Now, lockdowns are clearing the air. Beth Gardiner | National Geographic | 8 April 2020.
- Coronavirus: Air pollution might raise risk of fatality. Ajit Niranjan | DW | 7 April 2020.
- Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States. Wu, X. et al., | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | updated 5 April 2020.
- Can atmospheric pollution be considered a co-factor in extremely high level of SARS-CoV-2 lethality in Northern Italy? Edoardo Conticini et al. | Environmental Pollution, Elsevier | available on 4 April 2020.
- Air quality and COVID-19. EEA | 4 April 2020. (udpated)
- Pandémie COVID-19 et qualité de l’air à Genève. Canton de Genève | 1 April 2020.
- Impact of Janta Curfew & Lockdown on Air Quality. Central Pollution Control Board (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) Govt. of India | 31 March 2020.
- Coronavirus : la pollution de l’air est un « facteur aggravant », alertent médecins et chercheurs. Stéphane Mandard | Le Monde | 30 March 2020.
- Air Pollution Reduction and Mortality Benefit during the COVID-19 Outbreak in China. Kai Chen et al. | medRxiv | 27 March 2020.
- Coronavirus lockdown leading to drop in pollution across Europe. European Space Agenda | 27 March 2020.
- Coronavirus UK lockdown causes big drop in air pollution. Damian Carrington | The guardian | 27 March 2020.
- Global COVID-19 response has slashed CO2 emissions – here’s how to keep them low. Simone Abram | the World Economic Forum in collaboration with The Conversation | 26 March 2020.
- Air pollution goes down as Europe takes hard measures to combat coronavirus. European Environment Agency | 25 March 2020.
- These satellite photos show how COVID-19 lockdowns have impacted global emissions. Iman Ghosh | published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Visual Capitalist | 25 March 2020.
- India’s Coronavirus Curfew Resulted in the Lowest One-Day Traffic Pollution Levels on Record. Lauri Myllyvirta | Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) | 25 March 2020.
- Coronavirus: Air pollution and CO2 fall rapidly as virus spreads. Matt McGrath | BBC | 19 March 2020.
- There’s an unlikely beneficiary of coronavirus: The planet. Rebecca Wright | CNN | 17 March 2020.
- Air pollution likely to increase coronavirus death rate, warn experts. Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 17 March 2020.
- Coronavirus threat greater for polluted cities. European Public Health Alliance | 16 March 2020.
- Coronavirus: nitrogen dioxide emissions drop over Italy. EEA | 13 March 2020.
- Coronavirus Lockdown May Save More Lives By Preventing Pollution Than By Preventing Infection. Jeff McMahon | Forbes | 10 March 2020.
- Evaluation of the potential relationship between Particulate Matter (PM) pollution and COVID-19 infection spread in Italy. Societa italiana di medicina ambietale, Università di Bologna | Università di Bari | March 2020.
- Amid Coronavirus outbreak: Copernicus monitors reduction of particulate matter (PM2.5) over China. Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) | 4 March 2020.
- Why Does the Smog Strike Beijing Even When the City is Closed Down?Lauri Myllyvirta | Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) | 25 February 2020.
- Coronavirus temporarily reduced China’s CO2 emissions by a quarter. Lauri Myllyvirta | Carbon Brief | 19 February 2020.
Climate Action
The UN Climate Change Conference COP26 set to take place in Glasgow in November will be rescheduled for 2021. COVID-19 is the most urgent threat facing humanity today, but we cannot forget that climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity over the long term, said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa. Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere and oceans for centuries. This means that the world is committed to continued climate change regardless of any temporary fall in emissions due to the Coronavirus epidemic, reminded WMO Chief, Petteri Taalas.
- The Covid pandemic is an unexpected chance to tackle the climate crisis – here’s what we should do | Antonio Guterres | The Independant | 12 December 2020
- Green pandemic recovery essential to close climate action gap – UN report | UNEP | 9 December 2020
- Carbon dioxide levels hit new record; COVID impact ‘a tiny blip’, WMO says | UN News | 23 November 2020
- 22nd edition World Energy Markets Observatory | Capgemini | 3 November 2020
- Guest post: How the global coronavirus stimulus could put Paris Agreement on track | Marina Andrijevic, (Climate Analytics) and Joeri Rogelj (Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, IPPC AR6 lead author) | Carbon Brief | 15 October 2o20
- UN chief urges ministers to provide ‘decisive leadership’ on climate action | UN News | 12 October 2020
- Pathway to COP26: the role of green finance | Social Market Foundation | 6 October 2020
- Covid-19 and the climate crisis are part of the same battle | Jeffrey Frankel | The Guardian © Project Syndicate | 2 October 2020
- Climate crisis: States must stay the course on coal cuts – UN expert | OHCHR | 29 September 2020
- United in Science report: Climate Change has not stopped for COVID19 | WMO | 9 September 2020
- Exploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Emission Projections | Green Growth Knowledge Platform | 4 September 2020
- OPINION: In the face of COVID-19, rich countries are in danger of abandoning the poor | Youba Socona | Thomson Reuters | 24 August 2020
- Use COVID lessons to ‘do things right’ for the future, urges UN chief | UN News | 20 August 2020
- Current and future global climate impacts resulting from COVID-19 | Forster, P.M., Forster, H.I., Evans, M.J. et al. | Nature Climate Change | 6 August 2020
- Fighting Covid and climate change: What does this mean for climate science?| Harvey Parafina | Geneva Solutions | 6 July 2020
- Economic recovery through climate action | We Mean Business Coalition | July 2020
- To build a resilient world, we must go circular. Here’s how to do it | World Economic Forum | 6 July 2020
- GENeva Environment Dialogues | The Impact of COVID-19 on Climate Science | Geneva Environment Network (with WMO, IPCC and GEO) | 2 July 2020
- A ‘mass experiment’ for the climate | Emily Kasriel | BBC – Future Planet | 25 June 2020
- COVID-19 disruptions in ocean observations could threaten weather forecast and climate change predictions | UNESCO | 23 June 2020
- Why we must address COVID-19 AND climate change | Maria Mendiluce (CEO, We Mean Business and Managing Director, Climate & Energy at WBCSD) | 18 June 2020
- Falling clean energy costs provide opportunity to boost climate action in COVID-19 recovery packages | UNEP | 10 June 2020
- WMO informs on impact of COVID-19 on science | WMO | 9 June 2020
- No vaccine will protect us against climate change | Robert Hamwey and Timothy Sullivan | UNCTAD | 5 June 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Factsheet – Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions through Nature-Based Solutions and Resource Efficiency | UNEP | May 2020
- EU pledges coronavirus recovery plan will not harm climate goals. The Guardian | 28 May 2020
- Time to spark a COVID-19-like climate response. Vinod Thomas | The Hill | 28 May 2020
- EU climate neutrality is essential, or recovery will be short-lived. Eliot Whittington and María Mendiluce | EURACTIV | 20 May 2020
- Over 150 global corporations urge world leaders for net-zero recovery from COVID-19. Science Based Targets initiative, UN Global Compact, and We Mean Business coalition | 19 May 2020
- Turning the page on the age of oil. Achim Steiner (UNEP) & Franceso La Camera (IRENA) | Euractiv | 15 May 2020
- What COVID-19 can teach us about tackling climate change. Laurie Goering (AlertNet Climate) | WEF & Thomson Reuters Foundation | 15 May 2020
- The virus fight opens up a climate opportunity. Editorial | Financial Times | 15 May 2020
- Now is the Time to Build a 21st Century Energy System. Patricia Espinosa (UN Climate Change) & Francesco La Camera (IRENA) | UNFCCC | 14 May 2020
- Global coordination needed to fight COVID-19 and climate crises: BIS. Marc Jones | Reuters | 14 May 2020
- Record global carbon dioxide concentrations despite COVID-19 crisis. UNEP | 11 May 2020
- How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease | Abrahm Lustgarten | ProPublica | 7 May 2020
- Climate change: Could the coronavirus crisis spur a green recovery? Roger Harrabin | BBC News| 6 May 2020
- Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change? Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment | Working Paper No. 20-02 | 4 May 2020
- IMF leader says pandemic stimulus must focus on battling climate crisis. WEF & Thomson Reuters | 30 April 2020
- COVID-19 Could Result in Much Larger CO2 Drop in 2020. Zeke Hausfather | Breakthrough | 30 April 2020
- IEA: Coronavirus impact on CO2 emissions six times larger than 2008 financial crisis. Josh Gabbatiss | Carbon Brief | 30 April 2020
- Global energy demand to plunge this year as a result of the biggest shock since the Second World War. IEA | 30 April 2020
- Petersberg Climate Dialogue: Green Recovery will lead to a more resilient future. Petersberger Klimadialog Digital | on UNFCCC webportal | 28 April 2020
- A Time to Save the Sick and Rescue the Planet. Antonio Guterres | NY Times | 28 April 2020
- Parallel threats of COVID-19, climate change, require ‘brave, visionary and collaborative leadership’: UN chief. UN News | 28 April 2020
- Secretary-General’s remarks to Petersberg Climate Dialogue. Antonio Guterres | UN | 28 April 2020
- COVID-19 is a dress rehearsal for entrepreneurial approaches to climate change. Jeffrey York (University of Colorado Boulder) | The Conversation | 28 April 2020
- GRAND ENTRETIEN. Valérie Masson-Delmotte, climatologue, dessine l’après-coronavirus : “Il va falloir du courage politique pour éviter les vieilles ficelles”. Pierre-Louis Caron & Thomas Baïetto | France Télévisions | 25 April 2020
- COVID-19 does not mean climate action is on hold. UNEP | 24 April 2020
- Earth Day 2020 – a moment to pair climate action with our COVID recovery. Maria Mendiluce | 23 April 2020
- Next UN climate science report to consider lessons from coronavirus. Alister Doyle | Climate Home News | 23 April 2020
- Fall in COVID-linked carbon emissions won’t halt climate change – UN weather agency chief. UN News | 22 April 2020
- Earth Day highlights Climate Action. WMO | 22 April 2020
- UN Secretary General Message on Earth Day | 22 April 2020
- Guterres vows support for island States in twin fight against COVID-19, climate crisis. UN News | 21 April 2020
- Germany, With Skies Cleared by Coronavirus Lockdown, Produces Record Solar Power. William Wilkes and Rachel Morison | Bloomberg | 20 April 2020
- Flattening the climate curve in the post-COVID world. Patrick Verkooijen (CEO, Global Center on Adaptation) | WEF | 17 April 2020
- The age of stability is over, and coronavirus is just the beginning. Wolfgang Knorr (Lund University) | The Conversation | 16 April 2020
- Coronavirus shows we are not at all prepared for the security threat of climate change. Kate Guy (Centre for Climate and Security | University of Oxford) | The Conversation | 15 April 2020
- Le Covid-19 marquera-t-il un tournant dans la lutte contre le réchauffement? Joelle Noailly | RTS | 14 April 2020
- How COVID-19 could ruin weather forecasts and climate records. Giuliana Viglione | Nature | 13 April 2020
- Analysis: Coronavirus set to cause largest ever annual fall in CO2 emissions. Simon Evans | Carbon Brief | 9 April 2020
- “Der Klimawandel geht durch Corona nicht einfach weg”. Patricia Espinosa interviewed by Susanne Götze | Der Spiege | 9 April 2020
- Coronavirus: plane-free skies spur research into warming impact of aviation. Alister Doyle | Climate Change News | 9 April 2020
- Key COP26 climate summit postponed to ‘safeguard lives’. United Nations | 2 April 2020
- COP26 is postponed because of Coronavirus pandemic. WMO | 2 April 2020
- ‘We must use this time well’: climate experts hopeful after Cop26 delay. Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 2 April 2020
- COP26 postponed. UK Government | 1 April 2020
- COP Bureau Reschedules Climate Change Discussions for October 2020. UNFCCC | 1 April 2020
- WMO is concerned about impact of COVID-19 on observing system. WMO | 1 April 2020
- Financial help for airlines ‘should come with strict climate conditions’. Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 1 April 2020.
- Will the coronavirus kill the oil industry and help save the climate? Damian Carrington, Jillian Ambrose and Matthew Taylor | 1 April 2020
- Coronavirus: What could lifestyle changes mean for tackling climate change? Carbon Brief | 31 March 2020
- The World Must Not Forget Climate Change. Dirk Messner and Nick Nuttall | Project Syndicate | 30 March 2020
- Tackle climate crisis and poverty with zeal of Covid-19 fight, scientists urge. Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 28 March 2020
- What Can We Learn From Covid-19 to Help With Climate Change? Renee Cho | Earth Institute at Colmbia Unviersity Blog | 26 March 2020
- Politicians blew off Gen Z’s climate goals. The coronavirus shows we can act fast. Jamie Margolin | Washington Post | 26 March 2020
- The epidemic provides a chance to do good by the climate. Editorial, The Economist | 26 March 2020
- Economic slowdown as a result of COVID is no substitute for Climate Action. WMO | 24 March 2020
- 5 Lessons From Coronavirus That Will Help Us Tackle Climate Change. Christiana Figueres | Time Magazine | 24 March 2020
- Climat : “Ce n’est pas une baisse ponctuelle de la pollution qui réglera la question”. Valérie Masson-Delmotte | Franceinfo | 24 March 2020
- Coronavirus Holds Key Lessons on How to Fight Climate Change. Beth Gardiner | Yale Environment 360 | 23 March 2020
- Le coronavirus malmène les efforts pour le climat et la biodiversité. Audrey Garric et Perrine Mouterde | Le Monde | 23 March 2020
- Non, le COVID-19 n’est pas « bon pour le climat » … mais il devrait nous faire réfléchir. Augustin Fragnière | in his leTemps bog | 23 March 2020
- Reflecting on climate-neutrality ambitions in Europe in times of Covid-19. Hans Bruyninckx | EEA | 20 March 2020 (updated in April)
- COVID-19 stimulus should address health, the economy and climate together. María Mendiluce, Interim CEO of the We Mean Business coalition | 20 March 2020
- Put clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans to counter the coronavirus crisis. Fatih Birol | International Energy Agency | 14 March 2020
- Coronavirus and climate change are two crises that need humanity to unite. Andrew Norton | IIED | 13 March 2020
- Q&A: A Harvard Expert on Environment and Health Discusses Possible Ties Between COVID and Climate. Neela Banerjee | inside climante news | 12 March 2020
- If coronavirus halts climate convenings, ‘we must find other avenues for progress’. Kiley Price | Conservation International | 11 March 2020
Green Recovery / Greening Economies
Leaders and experts around the world are calling for a profound, systemic shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet.
- Building Forward Better: Prospects for Green Recovery Efforts | Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) & Geneva Environment Network | 17 December 2020
- African Ministers of the Environment commit to support a green COVID-19 recovery plan | UNEP | 4 December 2020
-
The post Covid environmental changes to aim for | Inger Andersen | The Telegraph | 4 December 2020
- OPINION: Not just emissions: why a green recovery from Covid-19 means more jobs | Maria Mendiluce (We Mean Business) | 23 November 2020
- What could a good green recovery plan actually look like? | Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 17 November 2020
- Sustainable urbanization critical to COVID-19 recovery, better quality of life | UN News | 31 October 2020
- Sustainable Development Goals: Building back better | UNA-UK | 26 October 2020
- How biodiversity-friendly trade can support COVID-19 recovery | UNCTAD | 19 October 2020
- Don’t ignore economic lessons of the Great Recession: new UNEP report | UNEP | 13 October 2020
- Collaborative Partnership on Forests urges to turn the historic challenge of COVID-19 into an opportunity for forestry and sustainability | FAO | 12 October 2020
- Nature Hires: How nature-based solutions can power a green jobs recovery | WWF and ILO | 12 October 2020
- Choosing a sustainable way out of the pandemic’s economic chaos | Paul Steele | IIED Blog | 12 October 2020
- Will COVID-19 accelerate the transition to a sustainable fashion industry? | Marco Ricchetti & Roberta De Palma | UNIDO | 9 October 2020
- Amid COVID-19, these 10 countries are aiming to kickstart their economies by repairing nature | UNEP | 7 October 2020
- Community solutions for a nature-based, resilient future beyond COVID-19 | IIED | 7 October 2020
- Historic UN Summit on Biodiversity sets stage for a global movement toward a green recovery from COVID-19 | UNEP | 1 October 2020
- Climate crisis: States must stay the course on coal cuts – UN expert | OHCHR | 29 September 2020
- Multilateral action for a green post-COVID-19 recovery | UNEP | 22 September 2020
- Mandeep Dhaliwal: We need a green recovery to prevent the next pandemic | The BMJ | 16 September 2020
- As we reboot the global economy, a sustainable pathway is the only road ahead | Inger Anderson | UNEP | 14 September 2020
- Making the green recovery work for jobs, income and growth | OECD | 14 September 2020
- More can be done to ensure a green recovery from COVID-19 crisis | OECD | 14 September 2020
- Governments must not miss the energy opportunity as they respond to COVID-19 | WWF | 4 September 2020
- Make COVID recovery ‘a true turning point’ for people and planet, Guterres urges, calling for concerted action by G20 | UN News | 3 September 2020
- Cooperation for clean air must be at the heart of a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis26 August 2020 | UNECE | 26 August 2020
- Here’s how we can defeat debt and strive for sustainability post COVID-19 | WEF & Project Syndicate | 21 August 2020
- Environmental stewardship and green recovery: The road ahead for West Asia | Inger Andersen | UNEP | 18 August 2020
- Cities – where the fight for a green recovery will be won or lost | UNEP | 6 August 2020
- Nature-Based Solutions Can Help Rebuild Economies After COVID-19 | Emily Owen and Courtney Durham | PEW | 3 August 2020
- COVID-19 and the world of work: Jump-starting a green recovery with more and better jobs, healthy and resilient societies | ILO | 16 July 2020
- Greening the recovery | PAGE | July 2020
- Clean energy future “is vital” – UN Chief | BBC News | 9 July 2020
- What will power the post-pandemic global economic recovery? | UN News | 27 June 2020
- Reforestation could play role in pandemic recovery jobs creation, says IMF’s Georgieva | Julie Mollins | CIFOR | 27 June 2020
- Will 2020 be the year of the Green Industrial Revolution? | Claudia Assmann and Colm Hastings | GGKP Blog | 23 June 2020
- Policy Brief: The World of Work and COVID-19 | UN | 19 June 2020
- Launch of policy brief on COVID-19 and the World of Work | Antonio Guterres | UN | 19 June 2020
- New UN report offers blueprint for greener, more resilient world of work | UN News | 19 June 2020
- IEA offers world governments a Sustainable Recovery Plan to boost economic growth, create millions of jobs and put emissions into structural decline | IEA | 18 June 2020
- IUCN calls on business to put nature at the heart of economic recovery plans | IUCN | 15 June 2020
- Five Foundations Commit $1.7+ Billion to Nonprofit Organizations in Wake of Pandemic | Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | 11 June 2020
- COVID-19: ‘Unparalleled economic shock’ threatens development hopes and gains | UN News | 10 June 2020
- The COVID-19 recovery can be the vaccine for climate change | María Mendiluce (We mean business) and Jose Siri | WEF | 9 June 2020
- Global institutions unite for a green and fair COVID recovery | Partners for Inclusive Green Economy | 5 June 2020
- Businesses call on government to deliver on green promises | Maria Mendiluce (We Mean Business Coalition) | apolitical | 5 June 2020
- #TheGreatReset | The Prince of Wales | HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative & World Economic Forum | 3 June 2020
- The Planet After the Pandemic | André Hoffmann | Project Syndicate | 2 June 2020
- Business Leaders Commit to a Clean Economic Recovery | Bertrand Piccard | 1 June 2020
- More than 200 leading businesses urge UK Government to deliver clean, inclusive and resilient recovery plan | Corporate Leaders Groups | 1 June 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Factsheet – Greening Fiscal Stimulus and Finance Packages to Achieve the SDGs | UNEP | May 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Factsheet – Green jobs | UNEP | May 2020
- EU green recovery package sets a marker for the world | Damian Carrington | The Guardian | 28 May 2020
- E.U.’s Coronavirus Recovery Plan Also Aims to Fight Climate Change | Nathanial Gronewold, E&E News | 28
- European Corporate Leaders Group rapid reaction and analysis of EU Recovery Package | 27 May 2020
- Faster, further, fairer: Putting people at the heart of tackling the climate and nature emergency. UK Environmental Justice Commission | 27 May 2020
- COVID-19: Four Sustainable Development Goals that help future-proof global recovery. UNEP | 26 May 2020
- Building Resilient Societies after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Messages from the International Resource Panel. International Resource Panel | 13 May 2020
- A world made new: Beyond COVID-19 to a low-carbon, resilient and inclusive world. Edward Cameron | Universal Rights Group | 13 May 2020
- Include the true value of nature when rebuilding economies after coronavirus. Nature | 12 May 2020
- Announcements Are Not Enough: Concrete Steps for Post-Pandemic Green Future. Jennifer Allan | IISD | 12 May 2020
- Cities step up bid for green pandemic recovery. David Fogarty | The Straits Times | 7 May 2020
- COVID-19 offers opportunities to make fishing industries more sustainable. UNCTAD | 7 May 2020
- Sustainability or Crisis with GGKP Head Benjamin Simmons. Alessandra Mazzai | FORESIGHT – The CMCC observatory on climate policies and futures | 6 May 2020
- « Non à un retour à la normale » : de Robert De Niro à Juliette Binoche, l’appel de 200 artistes et scientifiques. Collectif de personnalités | Le monde | 6 May 2020 (In English)
- What a sustainable circular economy would look like. Anne Velenturf & Phil Purnell (University of Leeds) | The Conversation | 6 May
- Le temps est venu : l’appel de Nicolas Hulot pour poser les premières pierres d’un nouveau monde. Fondation Nicolas Hulot | 5 May 2020
- Rich nations must make pandemic recovery plans green: global investors. Reuters | 4 May 2020
- COVID-19 crisis highlights urgent need to transform global economy, says new UN poverty expert. OHCHR | 1 May 2020
- City leaders aim to shape green recovery from coronavirus crisis. Matthew Taylor and Sandra Laville | The Guardian | 1 May 2020
- Saving the planet demands sacrifices just as Covid-19 does. Tim Harford | Financial Time | 1 May 2020
- Coronavirus : « Les solutions propres et rentables sont un formidable levier pour une croissance économique qualitative plutôt que quantitative ». Bertrand Piccard (Solar Impulse) | Le Monde | 30 April 2020
- How COVID-19 Could Impact the Clean Energy Transition. Peter Wooders, Ivetta Gerasimchuk | IISD | 29 April 2020
- Coronavirus: we’re in a real-time laboratory of a more sustainable urban future. Paul Chatterton (University of Leeds) | The Converstation | 27 April 2020
- IEA and Denmark host ministerial roundtable discussion on making clean energy a key part of the global economic recovery. IEA | 24 April 2020
- Investir pour le climat et la transition énergétique afin de mieux sortir de la crise. Swiss FOEN | 24 April 2020
- How we can all come back better – and greener – after Covid-19. Maria Mendeluce (We Mean Business) | The Telegraph | 21 April 2020
- Planet REBOOT: An opportunity to reshape the world after COVID-19. Karin Erika Kemper | WorldBank Blog | 21 April 2020
- COVID-19 Stimulus Spending for Green Construction Means Building Back Better. Christiana Hageneder (PEEB) | IISD SKU | 21 April 2020
- Towards a greener economy in Europe through “sector coupling”. Niklas Hagelberg | UNEP | 17 April 2020
- The businesses urging governments to build back better from COVID-19. We Mean Business coalition | 17 April 2020
- Which world do we want after COVID-19? Bertrand Piccard and Frans Timmermans | Euractiv | 16 April 2020
- En pleine crise du coronavirus, l’heure est au sauvetage de l’économie. Et le changement climatique, alors? RTS | 14 April 2020
- Build Back Better (WeMeanBusiness COVID-19 Policy Response)
- Green recovery – Plan de relance verte pour un monde durable. 180 personalities | 14 April 2020
- European CEOs, Ministers Start Campaign for Green Recovery. Bloomberg Green | 14 April 2020
- « En Europe, il nous faudra développer un modèle de prospérité nouveau ». Tribune de Pascal Canfin | Le Monde | 14 April 2020
- European Green Deal must be central to a resilient recovery after Covid-19. 13 European climate and environment ministers | 9 April 2020
- EU Economy Must Bounce Forward Rather than Back after Covid-19, says WWF. WWF | 9 April 2020
- Economic Stimulus Should Reward Front Runners on Sustainable Development. Oshani Perera | IISD | 9 April 2020
- The Coronavirus Pandemic Could Give Business Leaders a Broader Mandate for Sustainability. Kevin Moss | WRI | 9 April 2020
- Let’s make post- COVID-19 mobility more sustainable: UNECE issues guidance on reducing car use in cities. UNECE | 7 April 2020
- Germany’s coronavirus recovery plan should help build climate-neutral economy – env min. Benjamin Wehrmann Julian Wettengel | Clean Energy Wire | 6 April 2020
- First person: COVID-19 is not a silver lining for the climate, says UN Environment chief. UN News | 5 April 2020
- The coronavirus pandemic could derail renewable energy’s progress. Governments can help. Heymi Bahar | IEA | 4 April 2020
- How to build back better after COVID-19. Maria Mendiluce | in WEF blog | 3 April 2020
- The recovery from the COVID-19 crisis must lead to a different economy. Antonio Guterres | UN Secretary General | 31 March 2020
- Three Ways the Coronavirus is Shaping Sustainable Development. Richard Florizone | IISD | 31 March 2020
- Thinking ahead: For a sustainable recovery from COVID-19. Stéphane Hallegatte and Stephen Hammer | WorldBank Blogs | 30 March 2020
- COVID-19: harnessing the power of collective investor action for change. Fiona Reynolds | PRI | 27 March 2020
- Will Covid-19 have a lasting impact on the environment?. Martha Henriques | BBC Future | 27 March 2020
- Open Letter to Global Leaders – A Healthy Planet for Healthy People. Call to Action from the Planetary Emergency Partnership*: Emerging from the Planetary Emergency and partnering between People and Nature | 26 March 2020
- Could COVID-19 give rise to a greener global future? Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Kate Raworth | World Economic Fourm in collaboration with Project Syndicate | 25 March 2020
- Covid-19 is nature’s wake-up call to complacent civilisation. George Monbiot | The Guardian | 25 March 2020
- Covid-19 economic rescue plans must be green, say environmentalists. Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 24 March 2020
- ‘This is a wake-up call. We must live within our planetary boundaries to avoid future pandemics’. Paul Polman | Ethical Coorporation | 23 March 2020
- COVID-19 stimulus should address health, the economy and climate together. María Mendiluce | Interim CEO of the We Mean Business coalition | 20 March 2020
- Does the Pandemic have a Silver Lining? Arthur Dahl | International Environment Forum | 19 March 2020
- Responding to Coronavirus: Low-carbon Investments Can Help Economies Recover. Helen Montford | World Resource Forum | 12 March 2020
Sustainable Finance
Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Banking show the positive role they can play by employing a wide range of measures to respond both to the direct health crises and to the wider economic impacts.
- Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Global Sustainable Finance | UNEP FC4S & Finance Inquiry | 8 May 2020
- There can be no return to business-as-usual for the finance sector | James Hulse (Global Canopy) | Responsible Investor | 17 April 2020
- BLOG: UNEP FI’s Eric Usher on how banks around the globe are helping customers and communities weather the COVID-19 storm | Eric Usher (UNEP FI Director) | UNEP Finance Initiative | 9 April 2020
- Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Banking share experiences and responses as they take action to support society and businesses through the Covid-19 crisis (regularly updated)
Push back on Environmental Laws
While lobby associations rightly point to the significant challenges posed by an unprecedented global health crisis, some have explicitly call for postponement of environmental laws or loosening regulations that limit emissions from their facilities. In countries facing pressures on indigenous territories, the lockdowns are reducing the abilities of local communities to patrol.
- The Americas: Governments should strengthen, not weaken, environmental protection during COVID-19 pandemic | UN Human Rights | 13 August 2020
- Global deforestation accelerates during pandemic | Financial Times | 9 August 2020
- Fossil Fuel Companies Are Lobbying Hard for Protection from Coronavirus-related Lawsuits by Workers | Amy Westervelt | Drilled News | 7 August 2020
- Airlines’ climate obligations postponed as UN body endorses industry proposal | Chloé Farand | Climate Home News | 1 July 2020
- Civil Aviation Bailouts: Violating Our Children’s Rights? | CIEL | 18 June 2020
- Earthjustice Responds to Trump’s Rollback of Northeast Canyons and Seamount National Marine Monument. Earthjustice | 5 June 2020
- The hidden toll of lockdown on rainforests. Kimberley Brown | BBC | 19 May 2020
- Brazil opens 38,000 square miles of indigenous lands to outsiders. Mauricio Torres and Sue Branford | Mongabay | 8 May 2020
- Poaching, deforestation reportedly on the rise since COVID-19 lockdowns. Conservation International | Updated 6 May 2020
- Under the cover of lockdown, illegal logging surges in Tunisia. Layli Foroudi | Thomson Reuters | 1 May 2020
- As deforestation surges. Brazil moves to weaken indigenous and environmental safeguards. Lucy Jordan and Ana Terra Athayde | Unearthed | 29 Aril 2020
- Airline bailout tracker (since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, without binding environmental conditions). Transport & Environment | Greenpeace and Carbon Market Watch | 22 April 2020 (reguarly updated)
- Protections that Curb Toxic Coal Plant Pollution Under Attack. NRDC | 16 April 2020
- Pandemic Crisis, Systemic Decline: New Report Warns Oil, Gas and Plastic Industries are an Unfillable Sinkhole for Recovery Funds. CIEL | 16 April 2020
- COVID-19 environmental roll back ‘irrational’ and irresponsible’: rights expert. UN News | 15 April 2020
- COVID-19: “Not an excuse” to roll back environmental protection and enforcement, UN rights expert says. David Boyd | OHCHR | 15 April 2020
- In Next Coronavirus Rescue Bill, 830 Groups Urge Congress to Halt Electricity, Water, Broadband Shutoffs. Letter from 830 groups | 13 April 2020
- Despite COVID, Amazon deforestation races higher. Mongabay.com | 11 April 2020
- EuPC calls for single-use plastics directive postponement in face of Covid-19. European Plastics Converters (EuPC) | 9 April 2020
- Pollution Is Not an Equal Opportunity Killer. Nor Is COVID-19. Gina McCarthy | NRDC | 9 April 2020
- COVID19–request for a recast or postponement of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (Letter to EU Commission). European Plastics Converters (EuPC) | 8 April 2020
- Big Oil is using the coronavirus pandemic to push through the Keystone XL pipeline. Bill McKibben | The Guardian | 5 April 2020
- OPINION: Land seizures and COVID-19: the twin threats to Brazil’s indigenous peoples. Richard Pearshouse and Jurema Werneck | Reuters | 4 April 2020
- This coronavirus pandemic can be lethal to the environment, too. The Inquirer Editorial Board | The Philadephia Inquirer | 3 April 2020
- US Car Emissions Rollback Endangers People’s Health. Felix Horne | Human Rights Watch | 2 April 2020
- From containment to recovery: Environmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. OECD | March 2020
- Do Not Delay or Weaken Standards that Protect Public Health, Air and Climate. Letter from environmental, justice, and conservation groups to California Governor | 31 March 2020
- Earthjustice Condemns Rollback of Federal Clean Cars Standards. Earthjustice | 31 March 2020
- Trump Exploits COVID-19 Crisis to Roll Back Auto Pollution Rules. Ryan Schleeter | Greenpeace | 31 March 2020
- What EPA’s ‘Enforcement Discretion’ During COVID-19 Really Means. Patrice Simms | Earthjustice | 27 March 2020
- USA: Immediately revoke COVID-19 suspension of environmental protections. Richard Pearshouse | Amnesty International | 27 March 2020
- Trump administration allows companies to break pollution laws during coronavirus pandemic. Oliver Milman and Emily Holden | The Guardian | 27 March 2020
- EPA suspends enforcement of environmental laws amid coronavirus. Rebecca Beitsch | The Hill | 26 March 2020.
- E.P.A., Citing Coronavirus, Drastically Relaxes Rules for Polluters. Lisa Friedman | The New York Times | 26 March 2020
- EU car lobby’s renewed attack on cars CO2 targets – on the back of COVID-19. Eoin Bannon | Transport & environment | 27 March 2020
- Lobby groups of the European car industry – including manufacturers, suppliers, tyre-makers and dealers – letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pleading for a relaxation of cars CO2 targets. 25 March 2020
- Under the Cover of COVID, Polluters Seek Free Pass to Pollute. Keith Rushing | Earthjustice | 25 March 2020
- Plastics Industry Association letter to Alex Azar, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and askedsking him to speak out against plastic bag bans. 18 March 2020
Water and Sanitation
The spread of COVID-19 is closely related to water and sanitation, as cleaning hands can reduce the transmission and help people stay healthy. But today billions of people still lack safe water, sanitation and handwashing and funding is inadequate.
- This is what we need to prioritise to prevent another pandemic | Abishek Narayan | WEF | 19 November 2020
- COVID-19 stresses the need to transform Africa’s water, sanitation and hygiene services sector | Osward Chanda | African Development Bank Group | 4 November 2020
- COVID-19 puts the human right to water front and centre | Maude Barlow | National Oberserver | 22 April 2020
- COVID-19: the role of the Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health | UNECE
- Water and sanitation-related information related to COVID-19 from UN-Water Members and Partners | UN-Water
- Information resources on water and COVID-19 | International Water Association
Oceans and Blue Economy
The global lockdown measures have led to a decrease in fishing, tourism and maritime transport activities. For some, this can be seen as an opportunity to ensure a sustainable development of these industries while recovering.
- Governments Should Act to End Harmful Fishing Subsidies | Isabel Jarrett | PEW | 8 June 2020
- COVID-19 offers opportunity to save our ocean | UNCTAD | 8 June 2020
- The ocean and COVID-19 | Andrew Hudson | UNDP | 8 June 2020
- COVID-19 Pandemic and the Blue Economy : new challenges and prospects for recovery and resilience. UNCTAD | April 2020
- COVID-19: the ocean, an ally against the virus | UNESCO | 17 April 2020
- Covid-19 at Sea: Impacts on the Blue Economy, Ocean Health, and Ocean Security | Whitley Saumweber and Amy K. Lehr | Center for Strategic and International Studies | 10 April 2020
More on COVID-19 and the Environment
Environmental leaders, experts and institutions around the world have been issuing statements and other useful information.
- Bidirectional Association Between COVID-19 and the Environment: a Systematic Review | Nayereh Rezaie Rahimi, Reza Fouladi-Fard, et al. | Environmental Research | 29 December 2020
- The Executive Director’s Statement to the 152nd Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives | Inger Andersen | 20 November 2020
- World Bank and IMF must spearhead a green and inclusive recovery | The Guardian | 14 October 2020
- Soutenir de façon ciblée l’offre et la demande pour éviter la récession | Philippe Thalmann | Environnement Suisse | 3 September 2020
- What The Arctic Reveals About Coronavirus | Mia Bennett | JONAA | August 2020
- Devastated by pandemic, tourism sector must be rebuilt in a safe, equitable and climate friendly way – UN chief | UN News | 25 August 2020
- Earth Overshoot Day and COVID-19 Bring Food System Challenges into Focus | Marta Antonelli, Alessandro Galli, Laetitia Mailhes, Mathis Wackernagel | Diplomatic Courrier | 21 August 2020
- Why ‘One-Planet Compatibility’ Is Essential to Build Resilience in a post-COVID World | Olivier Blum and Mathis Wackernagel | Triple Pundit | 21 August 2020
- Human rights, the environment and Covid-19 key messages | UNEP, OHCHR | 20 August 2020
- COVID-19 : un cygne noir, mais un signe clair | Pascal Peduzzi | Environnement Suisse | 17 August 2020
- Pandemics and the global environment | Kip Hodges and Jeremy Jackson | Science Advances | 12 Jun 2020
- Environmental democracy in times of COVID-19 | Executive Secretary | UNECE | 5 June 2020
- Grasp the silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic | Kamal Gueye | ILO | 5 June 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Factsheet – Global Environmental Governance | UNEP | May 2020
- UNEP COVID-19 Factsheet – Trade and the environment | UNEP | May 2020
- WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19. WHO | 26 May 2020
- GEF’s response to COVID-19 | 21 May 2020
- IUCN Acting Director General’s statement for International Day for Biological Diversity. IUCN | 19 May 2020
- Working with the environment to protect people: UNEP’s Covid-19 response. UNEP | 14 May 2020
- The coronavirus is not good for nature. Marco Lambertini | Al Jazeera | 14 May 2020
- The COVID-19 crisis shouldn’t undermine the need for environmental action. Quite the opposite. Anna Brach | GCSP | 8 May 2020
- UNEP Response to COVID-19. UNEP | 7 May 2020
- A crucial opportunity for change following the COVID-19 pandemic. Marco Lambertini | WWF | 6 May 2020
- The Executive Director’s Statement to the 150th Meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives. Inger Anderson. UNEP | 30 April 2020
- Opinion: Faith, COVID-19 and the push for a healthy environment. Inger Anderson (UNEP) and Azza Karam (Religions for peace) | DW | 29 April 2020
- Where the Pandemic, the Environment and Gender Equality Meet: In Inger Andersen’s Home Office. Nate Bernard | Pass Blue | 22 April 2020
- COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘unprecedented wake-up call’ for all inhabitants of Mother Earth. UN News | 22 April 2020
- Environmental impacts of coronavirus crisis, challenges ahead. Robert Hamwey | UNCTAD | 20 April 2020
- African Union and IRENA to Advance Renewables in Response to COVID-19. IRENA | 16 April 2020
- Statement from the Partnership for Action on Green Economy: The Choices We Make Now Will Shape the Future. PAGE | 14 April 2020
- GEF CEO: ‘We need to protect our one common home’. GEF | 9 April 2020
- IUCN statement on the COVID-19 pandemic | 8 April 2020
- Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime: #CovidCrimeWatch n°3 environmental crime and the illicit wildlife trade – the weekly newsletter exploring existing and emerging interactions between COVID-19 and the illicit economy
- Blog: The pandemic, the planet, and where we go from here. Neville Ash | UNEP-WCMC | 7 April 2020
- UNEP Statement on COVID-19 | 6 April 2020
- Staying on Course: Renewable Energy in the Time of COVID-19. Statement by Francesco La Camera | IRENA Director-General | 6 April 2020
- #UncommonSense: The Holocene Strikes Back. Pavan Sukhdev | 3 April 2020
- COVID-19, Climate & Environment: the answers to your questions. Greenpeace | 29 March 2020
- A little exercise to make sure that, after the virus crisis, things don’t start again as they were before. Bruno Latour | 29 mars 2020
- S’agit-il d’une répétition générale? Bruno Latour | Le Monde | 26 mars 2020. Traduction allemande / traduction anglaise
- WWF & COVID-19. Carter Robert | WWF | 24 March 2020