Pandemics and Environmental Crises: Similar Problems; Different Governance Systems

Abstract

This chapter compares pandemics and environmental crises on two dimensions: their underlying problem structures and governance systems. This chapter highlights how pandemics and environmental degradation present similar problem structures. Yet they have triggered very different policy responses, and their governance systems are also different. Moreover, even if pandemics and environmental degradation are similar types of problems, there is little attempt to coordinate policies that tackle the interrelated aspects of these issues. We explain these incongruities by power differentials and perception biases that lead to an underinvestment in environmental degradation compared to pandemics. The chapter is divided into two parts. The first part illuminates the problem structures of pandemics and environmental degradation, including their similarities and interactions. The second part compares the existing approaches governing each of these issues and explains this variation. We conclude by discussing policy solutions to create positive synergies between the two issue areas