Global | False Dichotomies: COVID-19 and Climate Change

Summary

There will continue to be support for a low-carbon economy, but considering the short-term impact so that it does not slow down post-crisis recovery.

Key points

• Key points:
• There is no dichotomy between mitigating the health crisis and the impact on the economy. One cannot be achieved without the other, although the chosen policies certainly have different effects on the trade off between the two goals.
• There is also no dichotomy between economic growth, improving the population's standard of living, and reversing climate change. Persistent temperature changes over historical patterns negatively affect GDP per capita, and rising temperatures increase the intensity of catastrophic events such as hurricanes.
• The transition to a lower-carbon economy will continue, but policies will need to consider implementing potential short-term impacts that might clash with crisis mitigation.

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