In my original outline for my @LawGovDCU @DCUClimate global #environmental #politics module, yesterday would have been the day of my @WorldClimate #negotiation simulation. Because of @DCU's closure I replaced it with a class comparing #COVID19 and the #ClimateCrisis

There are parallels between these two global emergencies but also important differences. They both expose the fragility of our interdependent world to systemic shocks, play out over very different timescales and with differing visibility. Here is how I structured the class

As many have commented, responses to #COVID19 illustrate what it means to treat something as a real emergency. But already, just weeks/months in, questions are being raised about the societal sustainability of these emergency response measures

COVID-19 has forced us collectively into rapid behaviour change. What lessons does this hold for #climateaction? Key will be to figure out which of these changes are desirable, how to make them stick, and how policy interventions can embed pro-environmental behaviour

#COVID19 has strengthened community solidarity, but people's ability to respond through physical distancing is strongly shaped by existing domestic & international inequalities. The current crisis raises important Qs about intergenerational relations & international cooperation

The state is back in fashion. This has important implications for our response to the #climatecrisis. This new terrain is fraught with danger for #climateaction, but stimulus packages can be framed around environmental priorities, as Korea did in 2009:
https://twitter.com/HirokoTabuchi/status/1246066212699766786?s=20

My overall takeaway is that the current crisis is a potential critical juncture, but how it plays out is very much an open question. It will be shaped in the weeks and months ahead.

I am working with @sanderchan & others as part of a new @ESG_Project working group on this topic

Because of Easter, this was our last class together. Thanks to all my students for a great semester in very challenging times & for their patience as we transitioned to online teaching. And a big thank you to @glynnmark and colleagues @dcuteu for support in moving teaching online