Building Back Greener: International Environmental Protection and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of COVID-19

The report argues that while COVID-19 provided a temporary respite for the environment, it exacerbated social inequalities and led to a rebound in carbon emissions. It contends that current 'green recovery' efforts are insufficient, primarily limited to wealthy nations and focused narrowly on decarbonisation while neglecting nature and social justice. The authors advocate for a structural shift toward a circular economy, nature-based solutions, and innovative finance like debt-for-nature swaps to ensure a sustainable and equitable transition.

• COVID-19 caused a significant reversal in the fight against extreme poverty, with the 'new poor' primarily located in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, often working in informal services, construction, and manufacturing.
• Global energy-related CO2 emissions dropped by approximately 6% in 2020 due to lockdowns, but rebounded by 4.9% in 2021 to 36.4 billion tonnes, returning to 2019 levels, largely driven by OECD countries.
• The pandemic led to a surge in virgin plastic demand and a decline in recycled plastic markets, with approximately 3.4 billion single-use facemasks discarded daily.
• Environmental governance suffered during the pandemic, evidenced by increased illegal deforestation in the tropics and the rolling back of environmental legislation in countries such as Brazil, the US, and China.
• Green recovery spending remains a small fraction of total recovery funds; of US$3.11 trillion in global recovery spending, only 31.25% was designated as 'green spending'.
• Green recovery efforts have been unevenly distributed, primarily benefiting wealthy nations, and have prioritised decarbonisation over circular production, climate adaptation, and nature restoration.
• Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) are critical for an inclusive recovery but are underserved, accessing only up to 3% of global climate funds before the pandemic.
• Nature-based solutions offer high economic returns, with every dollar spent on ecological restoration expected to generate US$9 in economic and societal benefits.
• Developing countries face a severe debt crisis, with repayments on public external debt estimated at nearly US$3.4 trillion in 2020 and 2021, prompting calls for 'debt for nature swaps'.

APA

Benson, E., De Wel, B., Hattingh, E., Montmasson-Clair, G., Goswami, G., Forsyth, L., Zürker, M., Leotaud, N., & Farran, P. (2022). Building Back Greener: International Environmental Protection and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of COVID-19. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP-Building-Back-Greener-Report-Jan22-greyscale-v1.4.pdf

Chicago

Benson, Emily, Bert De Wel, Elize Hattingh, Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, Gitika Goswami, Leslie Forsyth, Mirko Zürker, Nicole Leotaud, and Paul Farran. Building Back Greener: International Environmental Protection and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of COVID-19. Green Economy Coalition, 2022. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP-Building-Back-Greener-Report-Jan22-greyscale-v1.4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benson |first1=Emily |last2=De Wel |first2=Bert |last3=Hattingh |first3=Elize |last4=Montmasson-Clair |first4=Gaylor |last5=Goswami |first5=Gitika |last6=Forsyth |first6=Leslie |last7=Zürker |first7=Mirko |last8=Leotaud |first8=Nicole |last9=Farran |first9=Paul |title=Building Back Greener: International Environmental Protection and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of COVID-19 |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=February 2022 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP-Building-Back-Greener-Report-Jan22-greyscale-v1.4.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{benson2022building, author = {Benson, Emily and De Wel, Bert and Hattingh, Elize and Montmasson-Clair, Gaylor and Goswami, Gitika and Forsyth, Leslie and Zürker, Mirko and Leotaud, Nicole and Farran, Paul}, title = {{Building Back Greener: International Environmental Protection and Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of COVID-19}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/GEC-Reports/UNEP-Building-Back-Greener-Report-Jan22-greyscale-v1.4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }