The COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated communities at all levels around the world, brings to light numerous environmental, social, and economic implications. As governments and non-state actors begin to consider pathways toward economic recovery, issues regarding the environment and sustainability - both preexisting and emerging - must be considered. Here, IGES provides research and insights on building a more resilient and inclusive Asia-Pacific region after COVID-19.
Implications of COVID-19 for the Environment and Sustainability
Establishing a "Regional/Local CES" for Localizing SDGs in the Face of COVID-19
COVID-19 revealed vulnerability due to unsustainable interactions between societies and natural systems, intensified by rapid globalisation. What is the key to achieving a sustainable society and well-being on a global scale? In this video Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President of IGES, introduces the idea of a “Regional/Local Circulating and Ecological Sphere” (CES), presenting its significance and linkage with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
On 6 October, IGES staff delivered an Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Productivity Talk entitled “Greening the COVID-19 Response, Recovery and Redesign”, emphasising that the key to a sustainable future is a planning framework that supports integrated policies and actions across these phases. Also called the Triple R Framework, the aim of this approach is to green our response to the pandemic, setting the stage for environmentally sustainable recovery and redesign of socioeconomic systems. The APO Talk was conducted by Eric Zusman (Research Director, Sustainability Governance Centre), Andre Mader (Programme Director, Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services), and Matthew Hengesbaugh (Communications Coordinator, Sustainability Governance Centre), who discussed case examples where the framework can be applied to sustainable consumption and production and biodiversity.
Presentation Materials: https://www.iges.or.jp/jp/pub/list/publisher/4714
Friday, 18 September 2020, 10:00 – 12:00 (Japanese time) Online
Sound Waste Management in response to the Pandemic of COVID-19 -Country and regional reports and the joint statement from Asia and the Pacific-
Thursday, 28 May 2020, 9:00 - 11:30 am (NY time)
Webinar 1: Thinking ahead for a sustainable, just and resilient recovery
Thursday, 28 May 2020, 3:30 - 5:00 pm (Incheon, Republic of Korea time)
East and North-East Asia Policy Dialogue on the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2020
The Energy Policy Tracker, led by IGES and 13 other organizations, is an initiative that offers the latest climate and energy-related information and experts’ analyses on national COVID-19 recovery policies among the G20. The online database is updated on a weekly basis.
Platform for Redesign 2020：The Online Platform for Sustainable and Resilient Recovery from COVID-19 (“Platform for Redesign 2020”) is a hub that collates countries’ climate and other environmental policies and actions that are planned and implemented in the context of recovery from COVID-19. The Platform for Redesign 2020 is led by the Ministry of the Environment Japan, supported by the UNFCCC, and managed by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).
Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | IPBES
Unsustainable interactions between societies and natural systems are among distal factors underpinning COVID-19. The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services reveals that, due to human impact on the environment in the past half-century, the Earth’s biodiversity has suffered a catastrophic decline at a scale that is unprecedented in human history. To address this, it calls for urgent and concerted efforts fostering transformative change.