Climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation are contributing drivers behind pandemics. Like COVID-19, these cross-cutting challenges do not observe national borders and can be managed only through collective action, write Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Johan Rockström.
Sandrine Dixson-Declève is co-president of The Club of Rome and co-founder of The Planetary Emergency Partnership. Johan Rockström is professor and director at The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and co-founder of The Planetary Emergency Partnership.
The following is an open letter they are sending to EU heads of states and governments, as well as to the presidents of EU institutions.
COVID-19 is infecting millions of people around the world, claiming thousands of lives, with numbers likely to rise exponentially in the coming weeks. The virus is also causing massive disruptions in the global economy and financial markets, amplified by a trade war on oil, which is already starting to cause economic hardship for people around the globe.
While we fully commend the European Institutions, ECB, EIB and member states for their swift efforts to confront the immediate threat of the virus and direct well-needed capital to economic recovery, we call on EU heads of state to ensure that recovery plans do not undermine climate neutrality pathways and European Green deal objectives due to clear feedback loops that will impact future public health. Read more…
