Pandemic Unmasked: Considering The Climate Crisis On The Road To Recovery

Pandemic Unmasked is a short series of podcasts by the British Embassy The Hague reflecting on the Covid-19 pandemic that started almost a year ago. This episode host Andy Clark speaks with Rachel Kyte CMG, Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts. She is also an advisor to the UK government in its preparations of the climate talks in 2021 as a Friend of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. Our Dutch guest is Sander de Bruyn, Environmental Economics Coordinator at CE Delft, an independent research and consultancy organisation specialised in developing innovative solutions to environmental problems. They discuss the need for a green recovery of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. What needs to be done to make the recovery from this pandemic as sustainable, efficient and inclusive as possible? A great example of a green business model comes from the Dutch company Packaly, a delivery company specialised in CO2 neutral shipping. Their CEO Axel Dekker explains their vision. It is an example of adaptation during the lockdown that can prove beneficial for the post-pandemic world.  Rachel Kyte CMG  served as special representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), prior to joining The Fletcher School at Tufts University.  She previously was the World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for climate change in the run-up to The Paris Agreement. She was also Vice President at the International Finance Corporation and served as co-chair of UN Energy. Kyte is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s high level advisory group on climate action and an advisor to the UK government in its preparations of the climate talks in 2021 as a Friend of COP26. Sander de Bruyn is Environmental Economics Coordinator at CE Delft, specialising in resource and materials policy, cost-effectiveness computation and economic growth and scenario analysis. He graduated as an economist with a major in welfare theory, and gained a PhD in applied environmental economics. By making proper calculations of the costs and expenditures associated with environmental policy, for government as well as industry, means can be sought to reduce those costs and increase the environmental pay-off. In his work De Bruyn often found that by adopting a slightly different policy perspective major savings can be achieved, to the benefit of both government and industry. Axel Dekker is CEO of Packaly, a Dutch delivery company specialised in CO2 neutral shipping. They ship parcels from stores directly to customer by bike couriers.