Responding to the intersection of COVID-19 and climate by bringing compound risks into focus

Abstract:

Recognizing that the immediate attention of the general public and of policy makers in 2020 has necessarily focused on treating and preventing COVID-19 infections, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ climate analyses and communications this year have aimed to highlight the ways in which the COVID-19 crisis is intersecting with both existing societal inequalities and the climate crisis. Through publications in academic journals, paid social media advertising, blogs, and traditional reporting from a wide variety of media outlets, we have reached large audiences with varying degrees of familiarity and receptiveness to messages around climate change.

When COVID-19 began circulating in the US, it became clear that our traditional climate-focused analyses and talking points would need revising to reflect the current reality. We therefore pivoted to producing rapid response analytics that highlighted the many ways in which climate change compounds risks associated with COVID-19. We produced analyses examining, for example, the potential intersection of spring floods in the US Midwest with growing outbreaks of the virus and how the reopening of the economy and lack of consistent public health guidelines could cause heat waves to lead to increased infections. Throughout, we examined and explicitly pointed out the fact that the groups most at risk of severe COVID-19 infection are largely the same groups who stand to be most impacted by climate change.

While we have applied our analytical skills to topics less familiar to us with success, these analyses often required us to work across disciplinary lines and to both strengthen and forge new collaborations with epidemiologists, public health experts, and leaders of environmental justice organizations. The result has been a keen interest in our work on the part of reporters, federal legislative staff, and the general public.

The framework we have developed for working on compound climate hazards in the COVID-19 moment will likely apply to future intersections of climate change with hazards such as civil unrest, food insecurity, and systemic racism. Likewise, the lessons we have learned along the way could serve not only our organization but other researchers too as we all navigate the instabilities and challenges of a climate-altered future.