Full Title: Building Back Better: A Sustainable, Resilient Recovery after COVID-19
Author(s): Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publisher(s): Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publication Date: June 5, 2020
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Description (excerpt):
For the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis to be durableand resilient, a return to ‘business as usual’ and environmentally destructiveinvestment patterns and activities must be avoided. Unchecked, global environmental emergencies such as climate change and biodiversity loss could causesocial and economic damagesfar larger than those caused by COVID-19.To avoid this, economic recovery packagesshouldbe designed to “build back better”. This meansdoing more thangettingeconomies and livelihoods quickly back on their feet. Recovery policiesalso need to trigger investment and behavioural changes that will reduce the likelihood of future shocks and increase society’s resilience to them when they do occur. Central to this approach is a focus on well-being and inclusiveness. Other key dimensions for assessing whether recovery packages can “build back better” include alignment with long-term emission reduction goals, factoring in resilience to climate impacts, slowing biodiversity loss and increasing circularity of supply chains. In practice, well-designed recovery policies can cover several of these dimensions at once, such as catalysing the shift towards accessibility-based mobility systems, and investing in low-carbon and decentralised electricity systems. Building Back Better: A Sustainable, Resilient Recovery after COVID-19