COVID-19 and the Super Year(s) for Nature

The briefing highlights the interconnectedness of economic and environmental systems exposed by COVID-19, urging governments to use recovery packages to shift toward a 'nature-positive' economy. While tools for valuing nature exist, the author notes that investment remains marginal due to a lack of political will and fiscal strain. The document proposes seven strategies for transformative change, including green fiscal reforms, full-cost accounting of natural capital, and the use of nature bonds to unlock private capital.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the interdependence of economic and environmental systems and provided a unique opportunity to redirect economic recovery spending toward a greener and fairer economic model.
• Despite the availability of economic tools and metrics to value nature and some industry adoption of 'nature-positive' approaches, nature and biodiversity investments remain marginal in economic decision-making, budgeting, and planning.
• Barriers to a nature-positive transition include a lack of political will, insufficient stakeholder participation in governance, and fiscal pressures that lead governments to prioritize short-term interventions over long-term structural transformation.
• Transformative change requires a combination of green fiscal reforms, the mainstreaming of full-cost accounting for natural capital, the use of innovative financial tools like nature bonds and tropical carbon taxes, and the inclusion of indigenous peoples in political strategies.

APA

Mohamed, N. (n.d.). COVID-19 and the Super Year(s) for Nature. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/30-Voices_Nature-Day_Najma-Mohamed.pdf

Chicago

Mohamed, Najma. COVID-19 and the Super Year(s) for Nature. Green Economy Coalition, n.d. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/30-Voices_Nature-Day_Najma-Mohamed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mohamed |first1=Najma |title=COVID-19 and the Super Year(s) for Nature |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/30-Voices_Nature-Day_Najma-Mohamed.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mohamedndcovid19, author = {Mohamed, Najma}, title = {{COVID-19 and the Super Year(s) for Nature}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GM2021/30-Voices_Nature-Day_Najma-Mohamed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }