Suchergebnisse

Apart from many social and economic problems worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to sudden halt in face-to-face climate-related meetings. Moreover, it has also negatively influenced the works related to the preparations for the sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and organizing the 26th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), namely COP26 to be held in Glasgow, which was postponed to November 2021. This article presents a global study undertaken among UNFCCC contact points and other climate experts, to ascertain the impacts of the pandemic on the implementation of SDG13 and UNFCCC processes. The methodological approach entails an bibliometric analysis, online survey, and authors' expert judgment. Results of the bibliometric analysis show that the most common terms associated with this theme are COVID-19, climate change, CO2, energy, "pandemic-related," and "adaptation-related." In addition, the survey revealed some difficulties associated with online participation in the processes from many developing countries. The study concluded that there is negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the UNFCCC process, more minor government priorities regarding climate action, loss of traction of the process, and a challenge to achieve the Paris Agreement, with less significant support from the respondents from less developed countries. The findings suggest that urgent action is needed, to make up for the lost time, and place climate issues more prominently on the global agenda.

Digital sustainability education (DSE) is becoming increasingly relevant in higher Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and spreads globally. DSE is fueled by the Covid-19-pandemic and urges lecturers, students and universities alike to break new ground in academic teaching. DSE impacts established approaches to ESD and raises questions of appropriate online teaching concepts, tools and enabling institutional, legal and political conditions. While lecturers are facing the challenge to conceptualize and implement innovative DSE concepts, students have to deal with new learning dynamics, requirements and obstacles. More and more universities are committed to or called upon to build enabling infrastructures for the spread and institutionalization of DSE. This working paper discusses core objectives and contextual conditions of DSE and sheds light on political, conceptual and didactical issues. It presents the outcomes of the online workshop "Digital Sustainability Education: Innovative Teaching Practices and Didactics in Times of Crisis" co-hosted by the Center for international Development and Environmental Research (ZEU) at Justus Liebig University Giessen and the Working Group Environmental Politics and Global Change of the German Political Science Association (25 – 26 March 2021). The paper maps eight good practice DSE teaching examples developed by lecturers from universities from different countries, introduces a toolbox and provides insights into individual and collective lessons learned. In doing so, the working paper contributes to current conceptual and political discussions on DSE and seeks to provide practical orientation for everyone engaged in the dynamic DSE field and university teaching in general.