Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

CarbonBrief have developed an interactive grid where you can explore and track the progress of how different countries across the world are implementing green recovery and renewal plans which aim to cut emissions in the aftermath of COVID-19. Below, we offer some examples of diverse initiatives from across the world:

• France allocated funding to “promote and support environmental performance” in their food and agricultural sector, e.g. funding to support farmers to adapt their farming systems to lower their impact on the environment. France have also allocated funding to create over 1,000 “eco-responsible restaurants in rural communities”, along with investment in “energy efficiency of public and private buildings, social housing, insulation and low-carbon heating”
• Sweden allocated investment to raise the “energy performance of Sweden’s housing stock and to support improvements in rental properties”
• Finland plan to “phase out oil heating in both households and public buildings” and allocated funding to the “wood constriction programme which promotes the use of timber by enhancing industry expertise, developing legislation and building regulations, and providing factual information”
• Chile have committed to plant trees on 24,000 hectares of land and invest in better fire management as part of its “mitigation and adaptation commitments related to forests and biodiversity”. Chile will also have invested in modernisation and irrigation projects for farmers, as part of the COVID-19 budget response

The ‘Going for Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery’ (OECD) report argues that structural policies can deliver a “stronger, more resilient, equitable and sustainable COVID-19 recovery”. Key to building resilience will be policies that transform environmental policies to drive the ‘Green Transition’. A challenge which lies ahead will be public perception and acceptability of environmental policies, specifically those which are market-focused (e.g. carbon tax). These have the potential to raise public concerns on the implications of such policies for employment security and cost of living - due to their impact on certain sectors (e.g. mining). The report offers strategies that can build public support of environmental policies. To illustrate the report uses the change to carbon pricing as an example:

• A phased-in and transparent approach (e.g. gradual raising prices) to give households sufficient time to adapt to the change as necessary
• “Revenue recycling”, which can fund universal transfer payments, reduce taxes, and provide targeted support for communities and households impacted by the change
• Communication with the public and education campaigns on the change, which promote the benefits of carbon pricing and counter misinformation
• Policy naming and branding which does not imply taxation (e.g. “Levy”), to mitigate the development of mistrust of the change amongst the public

Many countries face multiple risks from COVID-19 and natural hazards. To combat these dual challenges consider how to:

• Integrate climate change into green recovery plans post COVID-19
• Use COVID-19 as an entry point to engage communities in preparing for other diseases that may be brought about by climate change
• Engage the local community in designing local preparedness and response plans e.g. to address COVID-related food insecurity, distribution of PPE, local finance solutions that meet the communities needs

The Circular Economy calls for all materials in manufacturing to be reused, recycled or biodegradable. COVID-19 has raised new questions about plastics use and sustainability of, for example, using single-use surgical gowns, masks and gloves. Consider:

• investing in new protective materials that are reusable or biodegradable and that replace harmful plastics
• the environmental friendliness of cleaning products that will end up in waterways and oceans
• the potential health implications of contamination

This lesson was contributed to by a Chief Resilience Officer in Denmark, and the source below.

While disposable masks are necessary for keyworkers, promoting more environmentally friendly alternatives such as reusable masks and more frequent hand washing (opposed to disposable gloves) could be considered. Plastic pollution, already a threat to marine life and oceans has increased as a result of COVID-19 waste. Public campaigns to encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives and appropriate disposal could be considered.