After The Pandemic: Why COVID-19 has made me more optimistic we can tackle the climate crisis

Mary Robinson is a former President of Ireland and UN Human Rights Commissioner.

She is chair of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders working together for peace, justice and human rights.

Here, she writes about how the coronavirus pandemic proves it is possible for human behaviour to change.

2020 was set to be a significant year for global climate action, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in all walks of life.

It has affected lives, livelihoods and it has exacerbated inequalities.

With the postponement of the pivotal COP26 climate summit, and the derailment of so many other linchpin events in 2020, at first it might seem as though there is no hope of achieving the kind of climate action needed.

Yet, the pandemic has also shown that the international community can come together when the need arises.

It has demonstrated that it is possible for human behaviour to change at pace on a global scale.

While COVID-19 has intensified prevailing inequalities, these issues are all parallel to those with which we must grapple to overcome the climate crisis too.

At the start of 2020 I was dejected, we lacked any sign of the kind of leadership needed to meet the climate commitments.

Now, however, the response to the coronavirus by ordinary people - who have reflected with empathy on how their actions impact those on the front lines of the crisis - has given me more optimism for the future.

Government also matters. I am encouraged by the way women who are leading countries - such as Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand and Taiwan - have been able to both take tough decisions quickly, and then bring their people with them on the steps to be taken.

It is imperative that the recovery from COVID-19 is completely aligned with addressing the urgency of the climate crisis.

We need to listen to the young people, to climate-vulnerable states, to indigenous peoples, to women, to the scientists, to environmental defenders, and we need to ensure the global community is supportive of their needs, including action on the provision of climate finance.

Furthermore, a postponement of COP26 cannot be reflected in a delay on climate action.

We must avoid at all costs returning to "business as usual" in our COVID-19 recovery, we must oppose any attempts to lock in high-carbon and unsustainable development through recovery packages.

Leaders must ensure that climate-positive policies and investments lie at the very heart of COVID-19 response measures and stimulus packages

The pandemic has shown us how crucial international collaboration is to tackle global crises, it has also exemplified the inextricable links between public health and planetary health.

Health professionals and scientists are telling us that health systems are not resilient enough to cope with the existential threat of the climate emergency.

Some individual country responses to the COVID pandemic have also demonstrated the dangers of sidelining the science - it has given us a glimpse of the human cost.

Scientific convergence of opinion on what is needed to fight climate change is so strong that any failure to urgently act now, even in the face of other crises, would be a grave injustice to our children and future generations.

Whilst we need to acknowledge that governments and people around the world are still dealing with this devastating health crisis, as we start looking to the future we must advocate for climate justice and resilience.

The only sustainable solutions to both the coronavirus pandemic and to the exigent global climate crisis are ones where the world works together.

With the multiple threats facing our world I've learned from former Chair of The Elders, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to be a "prisoner of hope", a wonderful expression that he uses.

However, with this looming climate crisis hope is not enough unless we accompany that hope with action.

Now is the time to act.

This week Dermot Murnaghan will be hosting After the Pandemic: Our New World - a series of special live programmes about what our world will be like once the pandemic is over.

We'll be joined by some of the biggest names from the worlds of culture, politics, economics, science and technology. And you can take part too.

If you'd like to be in our virtual audience - from your own home - and put questions to the experts, email afterthepandemic@sky.uk