The Potential role of Green Finance in realizing Sustainable recovery from COVID-19 and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals
- May 21, 2021
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: COVID-19, IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IV, April 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Juliet Angom
Amrita School for Sustainable Development, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, India
Abstract: Since the genesis of the industrial revolution, finance has proven to be a powerful fuel for human progress. Accordingly, the purpose and existence of a global financial system alludes to allotting global savings to their most appropriate and productive use. This has corroborated various international efforts that reflect on the impacts of climate change and foster the ambition to adopt socially and environmentally responsible investment instruments. Green finance, a relatively nascent finance initiative has been hailed for its potential in attaining the needs of environmentalism and capitalism in tandem. This paper reviewed the potential of green financing as an initiative that could lead to a sustainable recovery from corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19), and hence achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The study unveiled that COVID-19 is both related to the SDGs and part of the research to attain the same. Though the world has been confronted by COVID-19’s asymmetric economic, fiscal, social and health impacts, green financing could hasten recovery from socio-economic disruptions of COVID-19 if concerted policy actions and the various proposed global recovery packages that prioritizes green policy choices are implemented. Green financing is compatible with both the climate goals and the low emissions transition agenda. Thus, its promotion of environmental protection, speeding up structural environment towards a low-carbon transition, increasing the society’s resilience to shocks and reducing future risks could lead to the achievement of at least 50% of the aspirational SDGs.
Keywords: COVID-19; Green growth; Sustainable Development Goals; Green Recovery Stimulus Packages
I. INTRODUCTION
The novel Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is one of the planetary crises alongside climate change and biodiversity crises that have proven potential to devastate natural systems that humanity and global economies subsist (UNEP 2020c; Norton 2020).COVID-19 which originated from China advanced into a global health emergency and has since December 2019 spread, infected and killed several millions of people worldwide(Yi et al. 2020; Fenz and Kharas 2020). Due to its highly contagious nature, various containment measures for COVID-19 has been enforced globally(Girum et al. 2020).
