The global health crisis of COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt. These unprecedented times have devastated economies and caused socio-economic damages on top of an ongoing environmental and climate crisis.
At the start of 2020, COVID-19 has spread across the world at an unyielding pace. What began as global jitters has evolved into unprecedented disturbances in the economy, health systems and daily life. In Asia and the Pacific, the impacts of the pandemic have reverberated soundly among its population of more than 4 billion and in its network of vital supply chains. In the face of such challenges, the region must respond quickly and collectively to save lives and build resilience against future pandemics.
Air pollution caused by particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5) can reduce visibility and adversely affect human health. As a result, the UN has addressed this type of pollution in the 2030 Agenda. Recently, annual mean PM2.5 maps have been developed using MODIS, MISR, and SeaWiFS observations from 1998-2015 and have been used by organizations, such as the World Health Organization and Greenpeace, to assess global air quality and health impacts.
As the world is struggling with the rapid-onset COVID-19 crisis, and while it is early to conclude which response strategies were the most successful, we can already start drawing some lessons to help shape our response to the slow-onset disaster of climate change. We share here seven such lessons on how to ensure that the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will happen in a way that will still put the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement at the center of sustainable development efforts.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have played a key role in Republic of Korea's response to fight COVID-19. Cellular broadcasting services, mobile apps & devices, telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and open government data are some of the digital solutions that helped the government in disseminating key emergency information; enforcing social distancing; administering testing; tracing and treating infections. Digital technologies have emerged as the Republic of Korea’s effective tools to combat the spread and impact of COVID-19.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, an unprecedented coalition has come together to launch “Earth School,” which provides free, high-quality educational content to help students, parents and teachers around the world who are currently at home. Initiated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and TED-Ed, Earth School takes students on a 30-day “Adventure” through the natural world.
Greetings from the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts Boston! We are thinking of you during these turbulent times. While the current crisis has upended many of our projects and plans around the globe, we invite you to join us for an online conversation with Christiana Figueres on April 16, 2020 and to share your vision for the future in a Foresight Survey by Future Earth. Your responses will help inform an emerging global discussion on 'where we go from here?’ and shape recovery strategies for rebuilding.