Environmental Sustainability Post-COVID-19: Scrutinizing Popular Hypotheses from a Social Science Perspective

Paul Lehmann, Silke Beck, Mariana Madruga de Brito, Erik Gawel, Matthias Groß, Annegret Haase, Robert Lepenies, Danny Otto, Johannes Schiller, Sebastian Strunz and Daniela Thrän
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Paul Lehmann: Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Silke Beck: Department of Environmental Politics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Mariana Madruga de Brito: Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Erik Gawel: Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Matthias Groß: Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Annegret Haase: Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Robert Lepenies: Department of Environmental Politics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Danny Otto: Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Johannes Schiller: Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Sebastian Strunz: Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
Daniela Thrän: Faculty of Economics and Management Science, University of Leipzig, 04109 Leipzig, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-21

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; environment; pandemic; resilience; social science; societal change; transition; window of opportunity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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