Corona and Climate Change

The Corona pandemic and its consequences have significant effects on climate change and climate protection, nationally and internationally. On the one hand, national measures and restrictions to combat the spread of the Corona pandemic and an economic recession have led to significant decreases of CO2 emissions in many countries and sectors, e.g. through the decline of air traffic and decreased industry production. On the other hand, particularly in the initial phase, political focus in many countries tended to shift from long-term climate action towards short-term actions to combat the negative effects of the pandemic.

The discussions about economic recovery schemes for companies and sectors that have been affected by the pandemic have sparked fears of a backlash for climate protection. During the past months, a number of green post-Corona economic recovery schemes, e.g. in the European Union and some other countries, have partly countered fears that unilateral action could increase at the cost of international cooperation. Still the Corona pandemic has already had significant effects on international climate policy and the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, e.g. through the postponement of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow to November 2021.

In this digital event the Swedish Minister for Environment and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin and Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, will discuss which lessons we can learn from the pandemic when addressing the climate crisis. They will also enter in a digital dialogue with you on what we can do to create more sustainable and climate-friendly societies in the years to come, when we recover from the pandemic: Will we succeed in rebuilding our economies and create more sustainable societies? What steps have Sweden and Germany taken and what can the two countries learn from each other? What role should the United Nations play to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement during and after the Corona pandemic and create a new momentum for climate action?

The language for the event is English.

AGENDA

• Welcome by Per Thöresson, Ambassador of Sweden
   
• Introduction by Isabella Lövin, Minister for Environment and Climate, Deputy Prime Minister, Sweden
   
• Introduction by Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer, Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Professor at TU Berlin
   
• Discussion with questions from the audience | Moderator: Christoph Schönherr, Scientists for Future, UNA Germany

REGISTRATION

Please register online via this registration form: http://www.dgvn.de/climate-change-corona-registration.

The digital event will take place via Zoom. After your registration you will receive information on how to dial-in to the event via e-mail. In case you have not heard from us, please also look in your spam folder. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Oliver Hasenkamp (hasenkamp@dgvn.de).