More Urgency, Not Less: The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Lessons for Local Climate Leadership

COVID-19 made climate action more urgent, not less

By Jacqueline Ashmore, Ardeth Barnhart, Cutler Cleveland, Peter Fox-Penner (Institute for Sustainable Energy, now IGS); Peter Plastrik, John Cleveland (Innovation Network for Communities); Joyce Coffee (Climate Resilience Consulting)

June 2020

As local government leaders grapple with economic recovery post-COVID-19, there is concern resources have been or will be diverted from climate actions and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The COVID & Climate: What’s Next for Cities? research series surveyed hundreds of reports, articles, blogs, and other materials on the links between COVD-19 and climate change found there is more public urgency, not less, for climate action following the pandemic and offers key lessons for city leadership. (First report in the three-part series).