Building Back Better and Greener for Resilient Recovery from the Pandemic

 11:00 - 12:30 CET
 24 November 2021
 EFDRR Virtual Platform
 Virtual

As governments take bold actions to address the impacts of COVID-19, the world has an unprecedented opportunity to pursue sustainable and inclusive pathways for resilient recovery and building back better. Meanwhile, the climate crisis is not waiting for the world to recover from the pandemic. Climate-related hazards continue on a path of increasing intensity and frequency, with floods in Europe, Japan and China; heatwaves and cold waves in Europe and the United States; cyclones in Asia and the Pacific, hurricanes in Central America and the Caribbean, and droughts in East Africa, to name a few. Extreme weather events exploit many of the same vulnerabilities as COVID-19, amplifying disaster risk and its potential impacts and further underline the urgency of prioritizing recovery measures that reduce disaster risk while addressing the impacts of the pandemic.

Since the early months of the COVID-19 crisis, assessments have been undertaken to support national governments to assess the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and develop integrated response and recovery plans. Assessment tools and methodologies were adapted to the COVID-19 context, such as the COVID-19 Recovery Needs Assessment (CRNA) developed under the Tripartite partnership on the 2008 Joint Declaration on Post Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning, signed by the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank, and mobilized to carry out assessments in support of national action towards recovery.

Recommendations from assessments point to the need to increase investments in decarbonizing the economy to improve natural capital while reviving affected livelihoods, jobs, and industries. For this, recovery stimulus packages create a once-in-a-generation opportunity to orient recovery investments toward resilience-building initiatives, including nature-based solutions. The EU green recovery package branded Next Generation EU, for example, sets a global standard by earmarking billions of euros per year on projects that meet prioritized green criteria. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2020 Human Development Report shows a US $2-10 return for every $1 invested in nature- and climate-aligned COVID-19 stimulus package. The UN Secretary-General has urged governments to undertake a green recovery, highlighting actions that push for carbon neutrality, climate financing, nature-based solutions, biodiversity protection, climate adaptation and resilience investments. As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Secretary-General Angel Gurría also stated, “Green recovery measures are a win-win option as they can improve environmental outcomes while boosting economic activity and enhancing well-being for all.”
 

Speakers

Opening remarks

Mr. Ronald Jackson
Head, Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team, UNDP and IRP Steering Committee Chair

Panelists

Ms. Rita Missal
Recovery Advisor, Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team, UNDP  

Mr. Theodoros Zachariadis
Associate Professor, Energy, Environment and Water Research Centre of the Cyprus Institute 

Ms. Charu Bist
Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Azerbaijan

Mr. Valerii Bezus
Head of State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, Government of Ukraine 

Discussants

Mr. Ronald Jackson
Head, Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team, UNDP and IRP Steering Committee Chair 

Ms. Paola Albrito
Chief of Branch, Intergovernmental processes, Interagency co-operation and Partnerships, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Replay at: