The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic affect all areas of our globally connected life. The pandemic reveals that current lifestyles are not resistant to crises. At the same time, the crisis highlights the need to intensify efforts to soon achieve a transformation to sustainability. In the latest report by The World in 2050 (TWI2050) initiative, Julia Leininger (Head of DIE Programme ‘Transformation of political (dis-)order’) as one of the lead authors as well as Anita Breuer, Ariel Hernandez and Christopher Wingens contributed to the assessment of potential positive benefits of innovation for a more sustainable and resilient future. In addition, the report discussed the negative impacts and challenges of the pandemic. A particular focus is placed on inclusive institutions, social cohesion and evidence-based policy-making. In this sense Julia Leininger emphasises a “prioritisation and renewal of the science-policy-society interface for evidence-based transformations built on a culture of trust, academic freedom, communication of accurate information, and a reinvigoration of global science organisations, highlighting that transnational crises require global context-sensitive responses.“
More on this topic: TWI2050 webpage; in DIE’s projects „Sustainable Development Pathways Achieving Human Well-being while Safeguarding the Climate and Planet Earth (SHAPE)“ and „Implementing the 2030 Agenda: Integrating Growth, Environment, Equality and Governance“.