In the face of fear and suffering, we need to have hope. With leaders starting to think beyond the crisis, it is time to decide what we value the most, and to share a vision for a better future.

The EEB’s EU Policy Director Patrick ten Brink shares his thoughts.

The global pandemic is spreading fast, with an exponential growth in the number of cases and no immediate end in sight, though with an increasingly robust government, scientific and citizen response, albeit in many cases coming after unjustifiable delay. We are experiencing a human catastrophe, of lives lost, widespread sickness, unprecedented social hardships, and job after job being lost. The impact on poorer countries with weak health systems and a high number of people working in the informal sector without any social protections cannot even be foreseen at this stage.

If this crisis is handled badly, we risk facing consequences as severe as the Great Depression of 1929. If handled well, we can get through this together, save lives and societal wellbeing, transform our socio-economic models to ones focused on people and the natural world and boost global partnership for sustainable development.

Read the full article here.