Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis. Efforts to contain the virus and support those directly impacted are of utmost importance. At IISD, that means our first focus has been on the health and safety of our staff and our own effort to flatten the curve.
As leaders, it is also our responsibility to look ahead and assess how the pandemic and the global recovery from it will impact the future of sustainable development.
Recent COVID-19 Coverage from the SDG Knowledge Hub
Coronavirus and its Impact on the SDGs
Our views are shaped by IISD’s threefold mission to advance a stable climate, sustainable resource development, and fair economies.
- Commentary
Ensuring a Balance of Power in the Face of COVID-19
Half the world’s population is subject to varying degrees of lockdown in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with an unprecedented crisis, should governments offer solutions that sidestep requirements of transparency, accountability, and responsibility?
Read More - Blog
We May Be in Uncharted Waters, But We Aren’t Lost at Sea
When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, governments around the world began structuring stimulus plans. We can learn a lot by looking back at how effective these turned out to be.
Read More - Briefing Note
The Impact of COVID-19 on Employment in Mining
Governments must act now to foster a resilient job market in the mining sector and protect their communities’ livelihoods.
Read More - Blog
In Ensuring a Resilient Recovery, Will Canada Lead, Follow, or Be Left Behind?
Canada must do more to fund a resilient recovery. IISD’s research into stimulus packages in Europe and Asia shows four areas of opportunity.
Read More - Blog
Financing COVID-19 Stimulus: Will high levels of public debt come back to haunt us?
The majority of COVID-related stimulus financing comes from government borrowing. Can this debt be paid back? Is it even meant to be?
Read More - Blog
As COVID-19 Continues, Governments Must Shield Emergency Measures From Investor-State Arbitration
Governments need to be able to issue COVID-19 support packages without worrying about the possibility of facing a wave of arbitration.
Read More - Blog
How Can We Support Fisheries During the Pandemic?
We must aim to support businesses, incomes, and food security while creating a more sustainable future for fisheries.
Read More - Briefing Note
Force Majeure and COVID-19: Legal risks of a double-edged sword
This breifing note offers expert advice for governments on how to approach force majeure claims and defences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More - Blog
Resilient Recovery: Using climate adaptation plans to build back better
Though focused on climate change, National Adaptation Plans offer important assessments of the risks a country faces and can be valuable in devising comprehensive pandemic response strategies.
Read More - Blog
Building Back Better Is the Right Thing to Do. It Also Makes Good Economic Sense.
Canada must focus on building back better in order to set us on a path toward net-zero emissions and even greater economic growth.
Read More