The panel discussed how the pandemic provides an opportunity to rebuild a fairer, smarter and greener future; address challenges of climate change, inequality, and gender gaps; build resilience; and support digital transformation. The discussants highlighted that the pandemic has accelerated the macro transformation and there is broader social consensus in favor of sustainability.
Key Points:
· Green Transformation. There is a wide-spread societal support for sustainability calls for accelerating the transition to a greener economy. Carney emphasized that there is a broad-based movement toward greater sustainability through credible, consistent, and impactful climate policies that can help the private sector accelerate the green transition. Fink highlighted that the performance of countries and companies will increasingly reflect the extent they address climate risks.
· Digitalization and Gender Gaps. The pandemic presents an opportunity to deal with the digital divide by leveraging digitalization for development and tackling gender gap. Georgieva stressed the need to build digital infrastructure and pointed to cases where digitalization hubs had helped tackle persistent challenges in developing countries. Fink recommended scaling digital infrastructure by providing digital access to households globally, positively impacting quality of life through enhanced access to education and health care. Carney underlined the positive role of digitalization and fintech in the growth of small and medium-size businesses.
· Policy Recommendations: As countries move toward mitigating the impact of the pandemic, there is a need to combine recovery measures and long-term strategies. Georgieva highlighted the positive impact of green policies and digitalization on creating jobs and reducing inequalities. Sousa outlined the challenges in managing a reform agenda during the health crisis while supporting sustainable growth. Initiatives such as the G20 DSSI should be combined with efforts to attract investment and diversify the economy. Georgieva advised governments to avoid early withdrawal of support and to target stimulus toward economic transformation.
Quotes:
“We can create green jobs and our recent research shows that direct stimulus to green infrastructure it will have a fantastic impact on jobs. If we want to give opportunities to people, we need to go digital everywhere." Kristalina Georgieva
“We need to make sure that nobody is left behind.” Vera Daves de Sousa
“It is urgent as we refocus our societies to raise the bar to create infrastructure [so] that every household in the world has the ability to have digitalization at home.” Laurence Fink
"...when you have 105 countries now explicitly committed to net-zero targets, the market gets on supplying that." Mark Carney
Contributor: Daniela Alcantara
