7 April 2021
Paul Steele is chief economist in IIED s Shaping Sustainable Markets group; Shamshad Akhtar is the former Pakistan finance minister
In 2020, communities in Western Uganda faced a double crisis of COVID-19 and flash floods that caused large-scale destruction (Photo: Climate Centre via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced at the recent Climate Adaptation Summit its intention to place climate change at the heart of its work – recognising the natural world and the economy are no longer at odds.
With the growing climate stress and depletion of ecosystems, it is imperative that the renewed efforts are launched to propel a green recovery from the pandemic, preserving nature for future generations and giving it much needed economic value.
EU and UNEP set out common priorities for environmental co-operation in Latin America and Caribbean
They aim to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution in the context of the region’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery
St George s, Grenada, Caribbean. Image: Shutterstock
The European Commission and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have announced common priorities for environmental co-operation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for the next five years.
They aim to tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution in the context of the region’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
According to UNEP, the LAC region is home to almost half of the world’s biodiversity – including 60% of global terrestrial life – and is a champion in protected marine and terrestrial areas: 24% of its land is protected and 23% of its marine areas is under national jurisdiction.
Of course, this includes investors, as such a monumental shift in the ways people produce and consume requires vast capital. But the savviest investors know funding a green industrial revolution offers them far more than the chance to make a positive environmental impact. Efforts to cut carbon emissions are transforming not only energy and transport systems, but also the design and manufacture of products and buildings.
This creates enormous growth potential for companies offering low-carbon products and services, and consequently opportunities for investors.
So much spending is required because green technologies need to play a far bigger role in the economy. To achieve the Paris climate goals, 100 million electric vehicles must be sold every year, for example, up from around two million in 2019¹, implying considerable growth not only for electric vehicle manufacturers, but companies in their supply chains.
Modern agriculture faces two big challenges today: an increased global demand for food and the need to grow crops more sustainably.
Overexploitation of land and the environmental pollution it causes has created a climate for change. Mitigating the effects of global warming and protecting biodiversity are crucial.
The Farm to Fork Strategy at the heart of the European Union Green Deal aims to create a healthier and more sustainable EU food system. One of its key targets is to reduce by 2030 the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50%. This includes lowering the use of high-risk pesticides by 50%.
New methods to reduce pesticide use