REINVENT hosted a semi-plenary at the Virtual Forum on Earth System Governance that took place 15-17 September.

Fundamental transformation of societies is required to address climate change. Decarbonisation is not just about reducing pollution, but it entails new norms and practices, and reorganisation of consumption and production across sectors and value chains. The pandemic has brought new challenges, but also a momentum and opportunity for change. By focusing on some of the hardest to decarbonise sectors of the economy, namely basic materials, food and finance, this session will explore whether or not possibilities for transitions are emerging from the crisis, which shapes they take, and how to respond to them.

The semi-plenary was organised in three 30-minute sessions, which will address the following questions: 1) What difference has COVID-19 made to decarbonisation?; 2) Is the pandemic reshaping the hard-to-decarbonise sectors, and how?; 3) What are the implications for the finance sector and its relation to carbon?

More information is available on the Forum’s website.