Sustainable development and finance post-pandemic – future directions and challenges

Sustainable development and finance post-pandemic – future directions and challenges

Sustainable development, finance and related global policies and mechanisms have evolved over the decades. Today, regional initiatives for classifying sustainable activities exist, and several decades’ research and development of ecosystem services and natural capital have identified and tested alternative economic models. The World Bank has the potential to finance them and sustainability at the landscape scale is achievable. But economic and environmental values can come into conflict. In developing countries, sustainable alternatives exist in business activities such as coastal and marine tourism. Financing small businesses through sound digital infrastructure is critical, as is the use of public fiscal instruments for the sustainable use of natural resources. Despite its developed status, renewable energy policies in the EU are leading to forest destruction. Financial vehicles such as green bonds have a similar potential. To avoid greenwashing, more focus needs to be on meeting the needs of those at the base of the economic pyramid, resourcing them with smart technologies and valuing civic engagement. Climate finance must be ethical and its allocation have integrity; this will foster community resilience. To avoid repeating the mistakes of terrestrial development, the world’s oceans need to be protected and new business models adopted in this expanding frontier. Now is the time for all sectors to create a sustainable future for the planet and its inhabitants in the post-COVID, postcarbon era to come.

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