Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.3390/su13168679 |
Licence  |
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| Title (Primary) | Environmental sustainability post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing popular hypotheses from a social science perspective |
| Author | Lehmann, P.; Beck, S.; de Brito, M.M.
; Gawel, E.
; Groß, M.; Haase, A.; Lepenies, R.; Otto, D.; Schiller, J.; Strunz, S.; Thrän, D.
|
| Source Titel | Sustainability |
| Year | 2021 |
| Department | OEKON; SUSOZ; UPOL; BIOENERGIE |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 16 |
| Page From | art. 8679 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Keywords | COVID-19; environment; pandemic; resilience; social science; societal change; transition; window of opportunity |
| Abstract | There is an increasingly vocal debate on potential long-term changes in environmental sustainability spurred by the global COVID-19 pandemic. This article scrutinizes the social science basis of selected popular hypotheses regarding the nexus between the COVID-19 pandemic and the societal transitions towards environmental sustainability. It presents results that were derived through an interdisciplinary dialogue among social scientists. First, it is confirmed that the COVID-19 crisis has likely created a potential window of opportunity for societal change. Yet, to ensure that societal change is enduring and actually supporting the transition towards environmental sustainability, a clear and well-targeted political framework guiding private investments and behavior is required. Second, it is emphasized that there are important structural differences between the COVID-19 crisis and environmental crises, like time scales. Consequently, many strategies used to address the COVID-19 crisis are hardly suitable for long-term transitions towards environmental sustainability. Third, it is argued that transitions towards environmental sustainability—building both on reducing environmental degradation and building socio-techno-ecological resilience—may create co-benefits in terms of preventing and coping with potential future pandemics. However, research still needs to explore how big these synergies are (and whether trade-offs are also possible), and what type of governance framework they require to materialize. |
| Lehmann, P., Beck, S., de Brito, M.M., Gawel, E., Groß, M., Haase, A., Lepenies, R., Otto, D., Schiller, J., Strunz, S., Thrän, D. (2021): Environmental sustainability post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing popular hypotheses from a social science perspective Sustainability 13 (16), art. 8679 10.3390/su13168679 |
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