Implications of COVID-19 for the Environment and Sustainability (Version 2): Perspectives from the Triple R (Response, Recovery, Redesign) Framework

Published on February 4, 2022

COVID-19 has morphed from a dangerous regional health threat to an all-consuming global pandemic and economic disaster. COVID-19’s rapid spread has had far-reaching implications on the everyday lives of people in nearly all corners of the world. In fact, as of October 2020, at least 50 million people globally have tested positive for the virus, and the official death toll exceeds a 1.5 million people. These numbers are rapidly growing as cold weather causes more people to come together indoors in the Northern Hemisphere. The sharp increase underlines the need for governments at all levels to coordinate cross-cutting and cross-boundary response and recovery programs. This position paper (version 2) revisits how to factor environmental and sustainability concerns into decisions related to COVID-19 . The paper focuses on issues particularly relevant to the pandemic such as medical waste management, wildlife-human relationships, and the adverse effects of air pollution, as they have substantial bearings on strengthening resilience in the future. In addition, a few untapped strategies such as changes in lifestyles and working arrangements are highlighted for bolstering future decarbonisation efforts.

The COVID-19 pandemic is closely related to many environmental issues and sustainability itself. With this relationship in mind, the 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue, held in April 2020, attended by ministers from about 30 major developed and developing countries, agreed on the importance of a "green recovery,” which calls for an environmentally sustainable recovery from the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 as well as policies tackling climate change and other environmental priorities (Petersberg Climate Dialogue Co-Chairs, 2020). Subsequently, the Japanese Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi held a ministerial-level meeting in September 2020 to set up an online "Platform 2020 for Redesign", stressing the need to recover from COVID-19 while implementing measures to tackle climate change and other environmental crises. Here, it was agreed that in order to “build back better”, it is necessary to incorporate the concept of “redesign” in moving towards a sustainable and resilient society. Accordingly, these two international conferences confirmed the importance of recovery and redesign as critical building blocks for enhancing resilience to pandemics and other environmental emergencies. IGES has been advocating a consistent approach towards COVID-19, underpinned by this Triple R Framework as its foundation, in which “response” during an emergency is complemented by “recovery” and “redesign”. This is also a big part of the SDG 12, Sustainable Consumption and Production, which contributes to the transition towards low-carbon and green economies. In addition, a few untapped strategies such as changes in lifestyles and working arrangements are highlighted for bolstering future decarbonisation efforts.