The Green Renaissance: How to Rebuild the Global Economy

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? In the final episode of our series, we speak to Angus Mackay (UNITAR), Jayati Ghosh (University of Massachusetts Amherst, International Development Economics Associates), Marie-Claire Graf and Heeta Lakhani (YOUNGO) to ask them what they think the real legacy of Glasgow will be.

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?

In Episode 10, we find our answers at the high-level launch of UNDP, UNEP and FAO's new report: "A Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity: Repurposing Agricultural Support to Transform Food Systems." Featuring Marco Sanchez (Food Agriculture Organization), Francesca Branca (World Health Organization), Nicoletta Batini (International Monetary Fund), Johan Swinnen (International Food Policy Research Institute), Vijay Kumar (Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, Government of Andhra Pradesh), Ann Tutwiler (Just Rural Transition) and Gerardine Mukeshimana (Government of Rwanda).

The UNDP, UNEP and FAO report discussed during the episode can be found at the following link: https://www.fao.org/3/cb6562en/cb6562en.pdf

It's been said that pandemics 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?

In Episode 9, we sit down for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Ashok Khosla (Development Alternatives) to ask: with COVID-19 opening a window into our unequal lives, how do create a fairer, just, and more inclusive post-pandemic world?

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).

In Episode 8, we compile the best parts from PAGE's flagship event at the UN High-Level Political Forum. Featuring Guy Ryder (International Labour Organization), Inger Andersen (United Nations Environment Programme), Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Germany), H. E. Elizabeth Thompson (Government of Barbados), Dr. Febrio Nathan Kacaribu (Ministry of Finance, Indonesia), and Melati Wijsen (Youth Climate Activist).

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?

In Episode 7, we sit down for an open discussion with Katia Samanamud (Ministry of Labour for Peru) and Ana Belén Sánchez (International Labour Organization) to ask: what are the symptoms of change for green jobs in Peru?

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?

In Episode 6, we sit down for an open debate with Steven Stone (United Nations Environment Programme), Brian O’Callaghan (Oxford University), Jean-Paul Adam (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) and Katja Funke (International Monetary Fund), to ask: are we building back better?

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?

In Episode 5, Miranda Schnitger (Ellen MacArthur Foundation), Nilgun Tas (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and Paula Iharur (CTplas – Plastics Technology Centre) provide the answers.

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?

In Episode 4, we speak to Onno van den Heuvel (United Nations Development Programme), Andrew Mitchell (Global Canopy and Equilibrium Futures) and Gwen Yu (BNP Paribas Group) to answer this and other key questions as we explore the role of sustainable finance in creating a nature-positive economy as part of a green recovery.

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 Episode 3, we speak to Moustapha Kamal Gueye (International Labour Organization), Khoudia Kane Lo (Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Senegal), and Gountiéni Damien Lankoandé (GRAAD Burkina) to answer these and other key questions as we explore the role of green jobs in advancing a green recovery.

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?

In Episode 2, we speak to Asad Naqvi (Head of the Partnership for Action on Green Economy Secretariat), Norbert Gorißen (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) and Jenitha Badul (Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries for South Africa) to answer these and other key questions as we take the green recovery from soundbite to action.