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

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.

Automated summary

The study suggests that the COVID-19 crisis has created an opportunity for societal change, but a clear and targeted political framework is needed to ensure that the transition towards environmental sustainability is supported. Additionally, there are significant structural differences between the COVID-19 crisis and environmental crises, leading to strategies that may not be suitable for long-term sustainability transitions. Transitioning towards environmental sustainability may have benefits in preventing and coping with future pandemics, but more research is needed to explore the extent of these synergies and potential trade-offs.