Post-COVID Economic Recovery and Natural Capital: Lessons from Brazil, France, India, and Uganda

The report finds that most pandemic recovery plans in Brazil, France, India, and Uganda missed the opportunity to invest in natural capital, often prioritizing business-as-usual practices. In Brazil, 87.3% of the reviewed budget for the Legal Amazon region had a negative impact, primarily due to agricultural subsidies. France's recovery plan showed a mixed impact, with 27% positive and 25% negative, largely due to corporate tax reductions. India's package was similarly mixed, with 18% positive and 24% negative, including significant funding for coal mining infrastructure. Uganda showed the most positive trend, with 34% of its 2020/21 budget having a positive impact, though this declined in the 2021/22 budget. The report recommends that governments implement environmental conditionality for corporate support, strengthen natural capital accounting, and align national strategies to ensure long-term economic stability through nature-positive investments.

• Across the four studied countries, recovery plans generally failed to integrate natural capital into decision-making, despite evidence that such investments drive social inclusion and economic growth.
• In the Brazilian Legal Amazon region, the vast majority of pandemic stimulus funds had a negative impact on natural capital, with 87.3% of the budget allocated to measures that undermine nature, primarily through agricultural subsidies that do not promote sustainable practices.
• France's 'Plan de relance' had a mixed impact on natural capital; while 27% of the budget was expected to have a positive impact (largely focused on climate mitigation), 25% was expected to have a negative impact, driven by a €20 billion reduction in company taxes.
• India's 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package' showed a mixed impact, with 18% of the budget having a positive impact and 24% a negative impact. Significant negative impacts were linked to fertiliser subsidies and coal mining infrastructure.
• Uganda's 2020/21 recovery budget had a predominantly positive impact, with 34% of the budget expected to be positive, including commitments to increase forest and wetland coverage. However, this positive impact declined to 28% in the 2021/22 budget as industrialisation and petroleum development were prioritised.
• Bailouts and subsidies that support 'business-as-usual' operations without environmental conditions undermine natural capital and mask the true costs of market failures.
• A significant portion of recovery spending in the studied countries was classified as 'unable to assess' or 'neutral', indicating a lack of transparency and a failure to apply natural capital lenses to general budgetary decisions.

APA

Patel, S., Steele, P., Mohamed, N., Hopkins, C., Worsley, S., Werikhe, A., Ntambirweki, B., Okiira, J., Datta, S., Goswami, G., Dutta, M., Rigolo, C., Goes, M., Sampaio, G., Picamilh, C., & Anglada, C. (2022). Post-COVID Economic Recovery and Natural Capital: Lessons from Brazil, France, India, and Uganda. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/GR-Country-reports/Natural-Capital-and-COVID-Economic-Recovery-web-single.pdf

Chicago

Patel, Sejal, Paul Steele, Najma Mohamed, Chris Hopkins, Stuart Worsley, Aaron Werikhe, Barbara Ntambirweki, et al. Post-COVID Economic Recovery and Natural Capital: Lessons from Brazil, France, India, and Uganda. Green Economy Coalition, 2022. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/GR-Country-reports/Natural-Capital-and-COVID-Economic-Recovery-web-single.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{patel2022postcovid, author = {Patel, Sejal and Steele, Paul and Mohamed, Najma and Hopkins, Chris and Worsley, Stuart and Werikhe, Aaron and Ntambirweki, Barbara and Okiira, John and Datta, Satabdi and Goswami, Gitika and Dutta, Madhubanti and Rigolo, Carlos and Goes, Marysol and Sampaio, Gabriela and Picamilh, Christophe and Anglada, Clementine}, title = {{Post-COVID Economic Recovery and Natural Capital: Lessons from Brazil, France, India, and Uganda}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/GR-Country-reports/Natural-Capital-and-COVID-Economic-Recovery-web-single.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }