“In early 2020 some thought the pandemic would be just
the sort of focusing event that wakes up world leaders to the risks of sleeping
on the climate crisis. Maybe they would use this ‘window of opportunity’ to
draw obvious parallels, so that one global crisis inspired action on the other.
Perhaps the U.S. Congress would finally admit the need to reform—and massively
expand—our emergency management system to one that prioritizes risk reduction
rather than reactionary measures. One that meets the needs of frontline and
marginalized communities who experience disproportionate disaster impacts and
are kept from accessing adequate aid.
“None of this has happened. Not only is the government
not applying the lessons of the pandemic response to other disasters, but even
within the pandemic itself, many elected officials have failed to apply the
lessons learned at the beginning.”— Samantha Montano, assistant
professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, "We
Didn't Get Serious About the Climate Crisis," Scientific American,
March 2022
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