The Impact of COVID-19 on Climate Change, Land-use, Human Security and Violent Conflict

Keywords: COVID-19, Climate Change, Land-use, Human Security and Violent Conflict
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 6

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected human lives across the world. The aim of this paper is analyze and discuss some of the key impacts of the pandemic on climate change, land-use, human security and violent conflict. To achieve this aim, a comprehensive literature review is combined with an analysis of relevant socio-economic, climate and conflict data. We find that the decline of the global economy in 2020 has led to less greenhouse gas emissions than in previous years but the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere in 2020 was still the tenth highest on record. Particularly the already vulnerable groups without formal employment contracts and social and health insurance are likely to be the most affected by the pandemic. With respect to human security, the inequality becomes most apparent when looking at the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Food insecurity increased strongly since the outbreak of the pandemic, particularly in poorer and conflict-affected countries. The effect of the pandemic on violent conflict seems to have been temporary. During the lockdowns, which mostly occurred in March and April 2020, the number of conflict events decreased mainly because the number of protests declined. After that, the level of violence reached pre-pandemic levels in most world regions. In summary, the pandemic added another risk layer to the existing ones caused by violent conflicts, unsustainable resource use and climate change.