3.6 Analysis of the identified critical learned lessons
Based on an extensive analysis and filtering procedure of the 553 collected lessons (from both literature and survey), 49 unique lessons have been compiled, as mentioned earlier. These unique lessons have been ranked by both experts and non-expert respondents. Table (4) lists the top 5 lessons as ranked by each respondent group. For a matrix of unique lessons and the scores of each rating criterion, refer to the Supplementary information file (Section SI.4).
Results of the current analysis indicate different perspectives of both participant groups on COVID-19 and climate change. The highest-ranked lessons from non-experts indicate that the public considers it a necessity to create changes through improved and more effective leadership, instead of behavior change. This is indicated by the four highest-ranked lessons, which all point towards an efficient and collaborative effort from the governments’ side. The non-expert group ranked the lesson “Collective behavioral changes can lead to regeneration in nature even in the short term” substantially higher than the experts do. These efforts are necessary on different levels with high transparency on both national and international levels. Public opinion was highly influenced by the role of experts as authoritative figures in strategies against the pandemic. Often, information from experts was perceived to lead to delayed or too weak political action. The desire to listen to experts consequently has become more apparent and can be considered an important lesson learned in the fight against climate change. The desire for authoritative figures and clear strategies on a global level is also present regarding climate change.
The highest-ranked lessons by the experts differ, as they mostly point towards choices that governance and society must make long-term. These enduring strategies must be applied at different levels, focusing on risk management, potential green economics, and the role of scientific data. Through applying these long-term strategies, a lack of sustainability could be challenged and more informed decisions regarding future development could be made.
The lessons indicate that collaborative efforts on a scientific basis are desired, which could well be implemented in future approaches to tackle climate change. As science communication plays a major role in this, one takeaway of the lessons could be for communicators to focus on the long-term changes needed, as the experts proposed through their ratings, but to also assess and communicate the impact or consequences of recent political decisions for the public, in line with the non-experts ranking.
Table 4. Highest-ranked lesson learned from COVID-19 relevant to climate change with their mean ranks.