Epilogue Austerity from financial to pandemic crisis

The coronavirus’ toll on millions of human lives could not have been moredirectly felt or more widely mediatised. The 2008 economic crisis’ toll on millionsof human lives was equally high, but it was far less mediatised and less direct. The 2020 WorldBank’s forecast expected the global economy to shrink by 5.2% due to the pandemic. The political ecology approach to the environmental impacts of austerity presented inthis volume highlights the multifaceted links between economic crisis and theenvironment by exposing the crucial role of political processes and power relationsin shaping socio-natural and spatial relations that reproduce inequalities. Gaininginsight on how socially and environmentally destructive austerity has been for humansand more than humans can inform policies and practices in reshaping a moreequalitarian world.