The Green Renaissance: How to Rebuild the Global Economy is a new podcast series on the green recovery from the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE). Join us once a month as we unpack the complex policy questions that will determine the fate of our economies, our societies, and our planet for decades to come.
COP26 was described as "our last chance saloon" to save the planet. Over 35,000 delegates from 197 countries travelled to host-city Glasgow, and at the end we had a new climate agreement – the Glasgow Climate Pact, which will set the global climate agenda to 2030. But in the months since the response to COP26 has been predictably mixed – so what did it all really mean?
Our food systems are failing us. Over 800 million people are suffering from hunger, while 13% of the world’s population are obese. So what is to blame? Agricultural production follows the money. And 87% of the $540 billion given to agricultural producers each year is either price distorting or harmful to nature and human health. So what we can do to fix it?
It's been said that pandemics can act as a "great leveller" – but has that been the case with COVID-19? While it’s created millions of new millionaires – and even so-called “COVID billionaires” – it's also pushed 100 million others into extreme poverty. So should we be surprised? Or has COVID-19 simply exposed and amplified a series of inequalities that existed long before the virus arrived?
This month: reflections from PAGE@ HLPF 2021. How can governments grasp the opportunity to turn economic recovery into long-term, sustainable economic transformation - while also advancing on the SDGs? (The answer: a mix of finance, private sector incentives, citizen engagement, and partnerships).
Peru stands at a crossroads. Three-quarters of its workers are informal or self-employed. The country’s diverse natural resources–which serve as the backbone of its economy and labour market–are also under threat. So what is it doing to change the script? How is it addressing labour challenges and ensuring decent employment for all while also promoting green jobs as part of a just transition?
Just over a year ago, as COVID-19 was causing personal, social and economic devastation across the world, government leaders were quick to announce their plans to “build back better” as part of a green recovery. At the time we all listened. But were we too quick to take these statements at face value? 12 months on, have governments really been matching these commitments with action on the ground.
Take, make, dispose, repeat. Those four words underpin everything that we do in our daily lives – but at what cost to people, and our planet? COVID-19 has highlighted the wastefulness of our current economic model. So how do we embrace the switch from lines to loops – or from a linear to a circular economy – as part of a green recovery to deliver benefits on multiple fronts?
COVID-19 is the product of a biodiversity crisis, and has shown that impacts from nature can be more devastating and immediate than those from climate change. To reset our relationship with nature – and avoid financing ourselves into extinction – how do we redirect finance flows to create a more a nature-positive economy tomorrow?
COVID-19 has caused a seismic shift in the world of work. With up to 500 million jobs said to be lost due to the impacts of the pandemic, how can green jobs reverse this trend? Why must governments ensure that a green recovery leaves no worker behind? And how do we address the growing youth unemployment crisis?
In 2020, the world agreed on the need for a green recovery from COVID-19. Now in 2021, the focus turns towards implementing it in practice. But how? What policies can we take inspiration from? And how have governments been approaching this challenge so far?
