6. How to reach this new future The science is clear and the potential for


transitioning to a nature positive economy is real: humanity simply cannot afford to lose another decade. [44]


The world can and must seize the


momentum and mobilize public investments to stimulate this transformative change including empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work. The United


Nations set out six principles to ‘Build back better’ [45]


capturing what is required:


1) The huge amounts of money to be spent on recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green transition.


2) Where taxpayers’ money is used to rescue businesses, it must be tied to achieving green jobs and sustainable growth.


3) Fiscal firepower must drive a shift from the grey to the green economy, empowering societies and people to be more resilient.


4) Public funds should be used to invest in the future, not the past, and flow to environmentally sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and the climate. Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying for their pollution.


5) Climate risks and opportunities must be incorporated into the financial system as well as all aspects of public policy making and infrastructure.


6) All need to work together as an international community.


This clear call to action from the United Nations draws on experiences and transition strategies already formulated by a number of countries, such as:


— European countries such as Austria, Germany and Portugal, as well as Chile, New Zealand and South Korea, have set targets to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier, and they have pledged to design enabling policy that will help industries and society transform in line with the Paris Agreement. [46]


— Countries as diverse as China, France, Singapore and Israel have set dates for some type of ban on petrol and diesel cars within the next two decades, with Norway committing to as early as 2025. [47]


— Other countries, such as Ethiopia, have created strategies for policy, industry and society to develop ‘a climate‐resilient green economy by 2025.’ That economy will be based on improving food security, protecting and restoring forests and their ecosystem services and accelerating the expansion of renewable sources of electricity.[48]


— The Swedish Parliament has implemented a 50 per cent tax break for repairs on goods like clothes and bicycles, while people can claim back half the labor cost of appliance repair through their income tax return. [49]


Analysis by the Smith School at Oxford University found that in April 2020, G20 nations had already earmarked over US$ 7.3 trillion in fiscal rescue measures. [43]


The analysis found that the majority


of the planned investments aim to reboot the ‘economy as it was.’ This amount, if combined with business investments in a nature positive recovery, could dramatically shift the world towards a much more sustainable future. At the start of 2021, it seems countries are still struggling to reorient investment, making the argument for transformative policies ever more urgent. Thus, it remains to be seen whether the global pandemic recovery will help pivot business towards the environmental sustainability that many are hoping for. To make this change, there is a need to transform the economy together, and in this, business can and must lead.


20 Adapt to Survive: Business transformation in a time of uncertainty


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24