Building Back Greener In the Post-COVID-19 Era

The report argues that current global economic responses to COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the climate crisis have been too focused on short-term stabilisation and stimulus rather than long-term structural reform. It highlights that only 18% of the USD 14.6tn allocated to COVID-19 recovery in 2020 was green spending, and that such investments have been concentrated in wealthier nations and focused primarily on decarbonisation. The authors advocate for a 'systems mind-set' that integrates circular economy principles, nature-based solutions, and just transition policies. Key recommendations include the use of debt-for-nature swaps, increased multilateral funding for the Global South, and the implementation of a 'Green Structural Recovery Menu' featuring fiscal reforms and the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies.

• Global spending on green recovery has been minimal compared to fossil-fuel investments, with only 18% of the USD 14.6tn allocated to COVID-19 recovery in 2020 being green spending.
• Green recovery efforts have been unevenly distributed, primarily benefiting wealthier countries while the Global South lacks the finance and credit access to implement large-scale green stimulus.
• Most green recovery policies have focused almost exclusively on decarbonisation, neglecting other critical areas such as nature restoration, climate adaptation, and circular production.
• Governments have largely failed to move beyond the 'stabilise' and 'stimulate' phases of economic response, neglecting the 'structural recovery' phase necessary for systemic reform.
• The report identifies specific successful green recovery examples, such as Pakistan's 'tree tsunami' afforestation scheme which created 85,000 jobs and 15 new national parks, and Indonesia's Green Recovery Roadmap targeting waste, energy, and plantation sectors.
• Innovative financial mechanisms like debt-for-nature swaps are highlighted as essential, citing Belize's use of a 'blue bond' to buy back international debt and Antigua and Barbuda's negotiations with the Green Climate Fund.

APA

Greenfield, O., McLean, J., & Hopkins, C. (2023). Building Back Greener In the Post-COVID-19 Era. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP_GEC_Building_Back_Greener_2022_Perspective-Issue42.pdf

Chicago

Greenfield, Oliver, Jean McLean, and Chris Hopkins. Building Back Greener In the Post-COVID-19 Era. Green Economy Coalition, 2023. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP_GEC_Building_Back_Greener_2022_Perspective-Issue42.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Greenfield |first1=Oliver |last2=McLean |first2=Jean |last3=Hopkins |first3=Chris |title=Building Back Greener In the Post-COVID-19 Era |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=January 2023 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP_GEC_Building_Back_Greener_2022_Perspective-Issue42.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenfield2023building, author = {Greenfield, Oliver and McLean, Jean and Hopkins, Chris}, title = {{Building Back Greener In the Post-COVID-19 Era}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP_GEC_Building_Back_Greener_2022_Perspective-Issue42.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }