Leal Filho Walter, Wall Tony, Alves Fatima, Nagy Gustavo J, Fernández Carril Luis Ricardo, Li Chunlan, Mucova Serafino, Platje Joost Johannes, Rayman-Bacchus Lez, Totin Edmond, Ayal Desalegn Y, Lütz Johannes M, Azeiteiro Ulisses M, Vinuesa Antonio Garcia, Minhas Aprajita
Research and Transfer Centre "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management", Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Ulmenliet 20, D-21033, Hamburg, Germany.
Department of Natural Science, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK.
Environ Sci Policy. 2021 Oct;124:267-278. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.06.008. Epub 2021 Jun 16.
Since January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the media and exercises pressure on governments worldwide. Apart from its effects on economies, education systems and societies, the pandemic has also influenced climate change research. This paper examines the extent to which COVID-19 has influenced climate change research worldwide during the first wave at the beginning of 2020 and how it is perceived to exploit it in the future. This study utilised an international survey involving those dedicated to climate change science and management research from Academia, Government, NGOs, and international agencies in 83 countries. The analysis of responses encompasses four independent variables: Institutions, Regions, Scientific Areas, and the level of economic development represented by the Human Development Index (HDI). Results show that: (1) COVID-19 modified the way the surveyed researchers work, (2) there are indicators that COVID-19 has already influenced the direction of climate change and adaptation policy implementation, and (3) respondents perceived (explicitly concerning the COVID-19 lockdowns of March-April 2020), that the pandemic has drawn attention away from climate policy. COVID- 19 has influenced the agenda of climate change research for more than half of the respondents and is likely to continue in the future, suggesting that the impacts on their research will still be felt for many years. The paper concludes by outlining critical implications for policy-making.
自2020年1月以来，新冠疫情一直占据媒体头条，并给世界各国政府带来压力。除了对经济、教育系统和社会产生影响外，这场疫情还对气候变化研究产生了影响。本文探讨了2020年初第一波疫情期间新冠疫情在全球范围内对气候变化研究的影响程度，以及人们认为未来应如何利用这一影响。本研究采用了一项国际调查，涉及来自83个国家的学术界、政府、非政府组织和国际机构中致力于气候变化科学与管理研究的人员。对回复的分析涵盖四个自变量：机构、地区、科学领域以及由人类发展指数（HDI）代表的经济发展水平。结果表明：（1）新冠疫情改变了被调查研究人员的工作方式；（2）有迹象表明新冠疫情已经影响了气候变化及适应政策实施的方向；（3）受访者（明确提及2020年3月至4月的新冠疫情封锁措施）认为，这场疫情使人们的注意力从气候政策上转移开了。对于一半以上的受访者而言，新冠疫情影响了气候变化研究议程，并且这一影响在未来可能会持续，这表明其对研究的影响在未来许多年仍将存在。本文最后概述了对政策制定的关键影响。
