COVID-19, Data, and Climate Change

This briefing by RMI compares the systems challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, arguing that both require transparent, standardized, and reliable data systems to inform critical decisions and investments. The author suggests that the climate fight must adopt the urgency and collaborative data-sharing seen in pandemic responses to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

• COVID-19 mitigation and the fight against climate change share systemic characteristics, including the need for transparent and reliable data systems to inform decisions, the presence of interconnected global systems where localized disturbances cause cascading failures, and the existence of critical tipping points that can lead to irreversible damage.
• Current climate data systems are hindered by inconsistent methodologies, poor alignment on assumptions—such as the underestimation of new technology adoption—and a lack of transparency. Specifically, the monitoring, reporting, and verification system for the Paris Agreement depends on self-reported national emissions inventories that are delayed by more than two years.
• Because international government-led action has been insufficient in coordinating timely climate interventions, networks of non-state actors, such as corporations and NGOs, may be better equipped to create borderless solutions. Examples of initiatives increasing ambition in this area include the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), ClimateWatch, WattTime, and the Coalition on Materials Emissions Transparency (COMET).
• RMI identifies the ultimate goal for climate data as the creation of an integrated, open-source system that can produce global emissions maps featuring real-time data, reduced uncertainty, and continuously improving granularity.

APA

RMI (2020). COVID-19, Data, and Climate Change. https://rmi.org/resources/covid-19-reinforces-datas-critical-intervention-role-with-climate-change/

Chicago

RMI. COVID-19, Data, and Climate Change. 2020. https://rmi.org/resources/covid-19-reinforces-datas-critical-intervention-role-with-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=COVID-19, Data, and Climate Change |date=6 April 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/covid-19-reinforces-datas-critical-intervention-role-with-climate-change/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2020covid19, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{COVID-19, Data, and Climate Change}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/covid-19-reinforces-datas-critical-intervention-role-with-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }