COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green & Transformative Recovery

This briefing by the Green Economy Coalition outlines ten priority options for governments and stakeholders to ensure that economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is just, green, and transformative. It argues that recovery efforts should address systemic risks—including climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality—by aligning stimulus packages with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

• The recovery from COVID-19 should move beyond pandemic response to build resilience against systemic risks such as climate change, biodiversity collapse, and widening inequality, utilizing the Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda as a roadmap.
• Fiscal stimulus and financial aid should be structured to accelerate a green transition rather than undermine it. Examples include Austria and France making airline bailouts conditional on Paris Agreement adherence, and Poland and Denmark restricting aid to companies not registered in tax havens.
• Governments are encouraged to remove fossil fuel subsidies, which are described as economically and environmentally damaging. Nigeria's decision to scrap such subsidies is expected to save the government at least $2 billion annually.
• Recovery plans must address gender inequality and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, who face higher poverty, wage gaps, and burdens of unpaid work. Hawaii is cited as implementing a feminist economic recovery plan to deliver gender equality.
• The document emphasizes the need to support small and informal enterprises, which represent 70% of global employment. Examples of tailored support include Chile's Emergency Family Income for 4.5 million vulnerable households and India's plan to reskill migrant and informal workers, who make up 90% of its 500 million-strong workforce.

APA

Green Economy Coalition (n.d.). COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green & Transformative Recovery. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/PIGE-COVID-10PriorityOptionsforaJustGreenTransformativeRecovery.pdf

Chicago

Green Economy Coalition. COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green & Transformative Recovery. n.d. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/PIGE-COVID-10PriorityOptionsforaJustGreenTransformativeRecovery.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Economy Coalition |title=COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green & Transformative Recovery |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/PIGE-COVID-10PriorityOptionsforaJustGreenTransformativeRecovery.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greeneconomycoalitionndcovid19, author = {{Green Economy Coalition}}, title = {{COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green \& Transformative Recovery}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/PIGE-COVID-10PriorityOptionsforaJustGreenTransformativeRecovery.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }