The COVID-19 pandemic has had a clear and drastic effect on everyone's daily lives and political priorities. It also has implications for the EU’s climate action and the European Green Deal. It has become evident over the past months that the short-term effects of the pandemic may actually be beneficial for the climate, through the immediate reduction of emissions and pollution caused by the lockdowns in many countries. However, beyond these temporary effects, the pandemic’s final effects on the longer-term politics of climate change in the EU will depend on how the EU and its member states respond to the crisis. This policy brief presents three potential issues caused by the pandemic and discusses the opportunity that the pandemic presents to take deep and lasting climate action – and how exactly this could happen.
