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

This T20 policy brief argues that the global green transition is becoming unstable and incoherent due to a 'polycrisis' of interlinked challenges. It proposes that the G20 establish a multilateral framework for 'structural green transition policies'—defined as systemic, long-lasting, and general-purpose reforms—to coordinate investment, reduce policy risk, and provide concessional financing, particularly for the Global South.

• The global green transition is currently unstable and incoherent, with governments struggling to respond proactively to structural needs due to a 'polycrisis' of interlinked policy challenges. This uncertainty is limiting green investment, particularly in the Global South, and creating a policy coherence gap as COVID-19-linked green stimuli end.
• Green structural policies are defined as reforms that are 'systemic, long-lasting, and general purpose' and intended to 'set expectations and a clear sense of direction'. Despite offering clear social returns, these policies—such as natural capital investment and gender-just green job schemes—are often crowded out by trade-exposed sectors.
• The authors propose four options for G20 action, ranging from the 'Status Quo' (Option A) to a 'Multilateral Framework on Green Structural Policies and Concessionary Financing' (Option D). Option D is the most ambitious, suggesting a G20-mandated task force and common framework to bind governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), and international financial institutions (IFIs) for greater investment support.
• Within the ambitious Option D, the authors distinguish between a 'Wide' framework (D(i)), which covers the full breadth of green structural policies and aligns with the Bridgetown Initiative's use of surplus special drawing rights (SDRs), and a 'Narrow' framework (D(ii)). The narrow version focuses on a 'top tier' of measures with consensus on their critical path for transition, such as green infrastructure, natural capital, and green skills.
• Investment in nature and natural capital is highlighted as a structural policy with exceptionally high returns. For example, land degradation methodology applied in India's Bundelkhand region between 2011 and 2018 estimated a 75- to 120-fold return on investment in nature.
• The brief provides five key recommendations for the G20: building a multilateral framework for structural green transition policies, collaborating on concessional financing for the Global South and indebted countries, creating a dedicated G20 task force, developing a shared definition of priority measures, and designing 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} }