Building back better : Ensuring COVID-19 response and recovery builds long-term resilience to climate impacts

Summary

While the COVID-19 pandemic has massively disrupted lives and livelihoods, it also provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a safer, more resilient world able to adapt to the threat of climate change and other perils. Within COVID-19 recovery and economic stimulus packages there will be opportunities to address multiple risks, including climate change impacts. This policy brief outlines recommendations and questions to consider to help policy makers incorporate resilience and systems thinking into stimulus and recovery packages so communities and governments can be more resilient to the multiple risks the world faces.

Recommendations

• Fund urgent needs, but avoid short-term thinking during the COVID-19 response phase; link humanitarian funding with longer-term resilience building efforts.
• Enhance global, national, and community support for a systems- and resilience-focused approach to COVID-19 stimulus and recovery plans with due attention for preventing the next shock.
• Recognize the importance of ex ante action and implement a ‘prevent first’ and ‘do no harm’ policy and early action mindset.