Browse Research

This desktop research reflects how COVID-19 is influencing people’s lives and lifestyles around the world, and in turn how “COVID lifestyles” affect and will affect the environment. It aims to understand, address, and eventually influence the lifestyles areas which have the greatest impacts on the planet. 

This research has been carried out through the Anatomy of Action framework which identified impactful actions people can take (15 key actions in 5 domains - food, stuff, move, money, fun). Though most available sources reflect developed country contexts, they remain relevant as the growing urban middle class throughout the world aspire to similar lifestyles. These aspirations also affect (‘set the bar’) for lower class consumption and emerging economies, reinforcing increasing consumption patterns. 

The Summary Report 2020 provides a comprehensive overview of all G20 countries, whether – and how well – they are doing on the journey to transition towards a net-zero emissions economy.

This briefing gathers COVID-19 responses targeted at protecting, managing, or restoring biodiversity (in particular ecosystems) in the context of economic recovery.

This brief focuses on COVID-19 responses targeted at strengthening risk governance – although comprehensive risk management is (or should be) the very foundation of any “green” stimulus measure and proposition by governments, multilateral organisations, academia, civil society, and other actors at the national and international level in order to achieve a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient recovery from the pandemic. The compilation shows that, to date, it is mainly international and civil society organisations pointing out the link to DRR, but some governments are highlighting the necessity to strengthen their risk governance to build forward better and prepare themselves for future shocks.

As more COVID-19 recovery measures emerge and rhetoric about the need to build forward better grows louder in the policy space, instruments to assess the scope, scale and quality of concrete “green” measures are only emerging. This first briefing features a spotlight on monitoring hubs that have been set up, including the Energy Policy Tracker, Green Stimulus Index, IMF Policy Tracker, OECD Country Policy Tracker, Carbon Brief green recovery measures tracker, and the World Bank's COVID-19 data hub.