Unrealised “Build Back Better” Potential in the Era of Polycrisis: Lessons from COVID-19 for City Climate and Energy Transitions

Abstract

Mitigating climate change in cities remains a central global policy priority, given that the majority of emissions stem from urban production and consumption. Prior to COVID-19, thousands of city governments had adopted ambitious climate action plans, including net-zero and renewable energy commitments. This study examines how COVID-19 and associated recovery packages affected city-level plans and actions. Drawing on literature on net zero, renewable energy, resilience, and COVID-19 recovery commitments and investments, as well as an original survey of 30 cities across the Global North and South—Argentina, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, the Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and interviews with leaders from five megacities (Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Mexico City, and New York), the analysis provides a comparative assessment of impacts and responses. The results indicate that city climate ambition and progress varied significantly by region, as did the effects of COVID-19 and recovery efforts. Many cities experienced delays as resources were redirected to immediate crisis response, while others benefited from new national green recovery policy frameworks and financing streams. Nearly three years after the World Health Organisation (WHO) marked the official end of the pandemic as a global health emergency in May 2023, COVID-19 has not fundamentally transformed cities in either the adverse or transformative ways initially anticipated. This paper identifies a set of recommendations to help cities leverage lessons from the pandemic to advance climate mitigation in the context of increasingly frequent and severe shocks.