Deny the facts, downplay the risks, then take action to protect human lives

The author draws a parallel between the psychological and political responses to COVID-19 and climate change, noting that both follow a pattern of denial, downplaying risks, and eventual action. While the pandemic triggered a rapid global mobilization—including G20 spending commitments of US$5 trillion—climate change has suffered from decades of delay due to human psychology's preference for immediate threats. The document concludes that the 'new found wisdom' of global cooperation seen during the pandemic should be leveraged to combat climate change.

• Both COVID-19 and climate change follow a similar narrative arc of public and political reaction: initial denial of facts, downplaying of risks, balking at the cost of intervention, and finally taking action to protect lives.
• The primary difference between the two crises is the timescale of reaction; while COVID-19 attitudes shifted in three months, climate change has taken decades to move past denial because human psychology prioritizes immediate threats over long-term ones.
• The financial mobilization for COVID-19 was unprecedented, with G20 countries committing spending equivalent to US$5 trillion by the end of March, representing 7.4 percent of their 2019 gross domestic product.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2020). Deny the facts, downplay the risks, then take action to protect human lives. https://climateinstitute.ca/deny-the-facts-downplay-the-risks-then-take-action-to-protect-human-lives/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Deny the facts, downplay the risks, then take action to protect human lives. 2020. https://climateinstitute.ca/deny-the-facts-downplay-the-risks-then-take-action-to-protect-human-lives/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Deny the facts, downplay the risks, then take action to protect human lives |date=21 April 2020 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/deny-the-facts-downplay-the-risks-then-take-action-to-protect-human-lives/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianclimateinstitute2020deny, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Deny the facts, downplay the risks, then take action to protect human lives}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/deny-the-facts-downplay-the-risks-then-take-action-to-protect-human-lives/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }