Principles for a Just Recovery from COVID-19 crisis

Friends of the Earth International argues that the COVID-19 pandemic shares root causes with climate and biodiversity crises, stemming from a capitalist and neoliberal system. The organization proposes a recovery based on four principles: abandoning neoliberalism and austerity in favor of state-guaranteed rights; enhancing multilateral cooperation and international solidarity, including Global South debt cancellation; strengthening democracy and human rights; and pursuing a transformative system change that shifts from industrial agriculture and fossil fuel dependency toward food sovereignty and community-owned renewable energy.

• The organization asserts that the COVID-19 pandemic and other socio-ecological crises—including climate, biodiversity, food, water, economic, and care—are all driven by the same root causes: a "capitalist, patriarchal and racist system designed for capital accumulation and neoliberal, corporate-led globalisation."
• A just recovery requires abandoning neoliberalism and austerity. Public recovery packages should prioritize direct support for marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples, black and afro-descendant communities, and the working class, while avoiding bailouts for transnational corporations in the fossil fuel, mining, and agribusiness sectors.
• International solidarity and multilateral cooperation are essential, specifically through the cancellation of all Global South debt, the application of climate reparations and ecological debt, and the provision of non-refundable grants from the Global North and international financial institutions.
• The document calls for a transformative system change to address multiple crises simultaneously. This includes transitioning to 100% community-owned renewable energy, moving away from industrial agriculture toward food sovereignty and agroecology, and recognizing essential services like health, energy, and water as rights funded through just taxation.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). Principles for a Just Recovery from COVID-19 crisis. https://www.foei.org/publication/principles-for-a-just-recovery-from-covid-19-crisis/

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Principles for a Just Recovery from COVID-19 crisis. n.d. https://www.foei.org/publication/principles-for-a-just-recovery-from-covid-19-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Principles for a Just Recovery from COVID-19 crisis |url=https://www.foei.org/publication/principles-for-a-just-recovery-from-covid-19-crisis/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{friendsoftheearthinternationalndprinciples, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Principles for a Just Recovery from COVID-19 crisis}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/publication/principles-for-a-just-recovery-from-covid-19-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }