Fixing the Green Investment and Coherence Gap through Structural Green Transition Policies

The policy brief identifies a 'policy coherence gap' in the global green transition, where structural, long-term policies are being crowded out by unilateral industrial measures and short-term stimuli. It proposes that the G20 adopt a shared agenda to define and prioritize structural green reforms—such as natural capital investment and fossil fuel subsidy reform—to unlock concessionary financing and private investment for low-income and indebted countries. The authors present four options for G20 action, ranging from the status quo to a high-ambition multilateral framework that integrates debt-swap approaches and special drawing rights to facilitate a just transition.

• The global green transition is currently unstable and incoherent due to a 'polycrisis' of interlinked challenges, leading to a policy coherence gap as governments move past COVID-19 green recovery frameworks.
• Structural green policies, defined as those that are 'systemic, long-lasting, and general purpose', are currently being crowded out by trade-exposed sectors and unilateral green industrial policies in industrialized countries.
• Investment in nature and natural capital is highlighted as a structural policy with exceptionally high returns; specifically, land remediation in India's Bundelkhand region (2011-2018) showed an estimated 75- to 120-fold return on investment.
• The authors propose a high-ambition 'Wide Structural Policy Framework' (Option D(i)) that would use surplus special drawing rights (SDRs) from advanced economies to create fiscal space for developing and indebted nations.
• A more cautious 'Narrow Structural Policy Framework' (Option D(ii)) would focus on a 'top tier' of measures with consensus on their critical path for transition, medium-term fiscal returns, and clear social returns, specifically green infrastructure, natural capital, and green skills.
• The document recommends that the G20 create a dedicated task force to build consensus on structural green transition policies and develop a shared toolkit to guide national investment strategies.

APA

Hopkins, C., & Goswami, G. (2023). Fixing the Green Investment and Coherence Gap through Structural Green Transition Policies. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/T20_PolicyBrief_TF4_GreenInvestmentCoherenceGap.pdf

Chicago

Hopkins, Chris, and Gitika Goswami. Fixing the Green Investment and Coherence Gap through Structural Green Transition Policies. Green Economy Coalition, 2023. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/T20_PolicyBrief_TF4_GreenInvestmentCoherenceGap.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hopkins |first1=Chris |last2=Goswami |first2=Gitika |title=Fixing the Green Investment and Coherence Gap through Structural Green Transition Policies |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=June 2023 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/T20_PolicyBrief_TF4_GreenInvestmentCoherenceGap.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hopkins2023fixing, author = {Hopkins, Chris and Goswami, Gitika}, title = {{Fixing the Green Investment and Coherence Gap through Structural Green Transition Policies}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/T20_PolicyBrief_TF4_GreenInvestmentCoherenceGap.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }