## What COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Mitigating Climate Change

_IMF Blog, July 9, 2021_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [What COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Mitigating Climate Change](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2021/07/09/what-covid-19-can-teach-us-about-mitigating-climate-change)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Oya Celasun, Florence Jaumotte, Antonio Spilimbergo
- Published: July 9, 2021

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### Overview and public sentiment
- Publication: Oya Celasun, Florence Jaumotte, Antonio Spilimbergo, July 9, 2021.
- A global Ipsos poll conducted for the IMF found that 43 percent of people surveyed reported being more worried about climate change now than they were before the pandemic, with only 7 percent saying they are less worried.
- The pandemic has heightened public awareness about the dangers of unmitigated climate change, creating an important moment for policymakers to enact bold reforms.

### Fundamental similarities between COVID-19 and climate change
- Human behavior is central to both crises:
  - SARS-COV2 spreads between people directly, requiring social distancing for containment.
  - Climate change is mostly caused by emissions of greenhouse gases from human activity, requiring us to use less and cleaner energy.
- Both crises are global and economically devastating, likely to disproportionately impact the poor and deepen existing inequalities.
- Both crises require global solutions:
  - COVID-19 will not be resolved until all countries bring the pandemic under control through widespread vaccination.
  - The climate crisis will not be solved until all emitters swing into action, bringing global emissions to net zero.

### Concerning responses observed during the pandemic
- Short-termism:
  - No country was prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic despite prior outbreaks (e.g., MERS, SARS, Ebola, Zika) and multiple scientific warnings.
  - Some policymakers ignored public health advice and acted only after large human and economic costs were incurred, raising the question of how to respond to a danger a few decades away.
- Insufficient cooperation:
  - Scientific collaboration was unprecedented, but government cooperation to distribute vaccines equitably faltered early on.
  - Many countries reverted to vaccine nationalism; international distribution often followed money and power despite objections, with COVAX a notable exception.

### The power of science and technological progress
- Vaccine development speed:
  - Developing a new vaccine typically takes 5 to 10 years according to Johns Hopkins University.
  - Most experts last year estimated delivering an effective COVID-19 vaccine would take at least 12 to 18 months; vaccines were approved only 9 months after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.
- Implications for climate technologies:
  - New technologies are crucial—though not sufficient—to reach net-zero by 2050 (examples: industrial scale battery storage, green hydrogen, carbon capture, negative emission technologies).
  - Advances are needed to lower costs and broaden adoption of clean technologies.
  - Solar panel technology progress: an 80 percent drop in prices over the past decade demonstrates rapid progress is possible with sufficient resources.

### Lessons and policy recommendations for climate change mitigation
- Overcome short-termism from the outset:
  - Short-termism is driven by fears of lost jobs and threatened livelihoods.
  - Communicate coherent and credible policies to ensure a “just transition.”
  - Carbon pricing can help governments raise revenues that can be used to create jobs and protect poorer households, supporting a longer-term vision.
- Governments must play a key role:
  - Governments provided backstops in past crises (e.g., Global Financial Crisis) and risk capital for COVID-19 vaccine development.
  - Breakthroughs in green technologies will require government support for basic research and infrastructure.
- Strengthen international collaboration:
  - The Paris Climate Agreement has encouraged increased ambition, but many countries are falling short of voluntary pledges; collective pledges remain insufficient to keep global warming below 2°C.
  - A supplementary agreement among the top emitters—adopting a differentiated carbon price floor to aid monitoring and limit competitiveness concerns—could help coordination.
  - Enshrine current momentum toward mitigation in a collective agreement that can draw in more participants over time.
  - Provide climate finance and technology transfers to developing economies to enhance mitigation and adaptation efforts.

### Engagement
- The blog invites readers to participate in a 3-question survey on IMFBlog.

*Source: What COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Mitigating Climate Change (IMF blog, July 9, 2021)*

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## References

- [substantial economic damage](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2017/09/19/world-economic-outlook-october-2017)
- [just transition](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/09/30/world-economic-outlook-october-2020)
- [carbon pricing](https://blogs.imf.org/2021/06/18/a-proposal-to-scale-up-global-carbon-pricing/)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2021/07/09/what-covid-19-can-teach-us-about-mitigating-climate-change_