Over the next 6-18 months, it is estimated that countries will invest over $20 trillion to recover from the fallout of COVID-19. The make-up of these financial decisions will define the shape of our societies and economies for decades to come, including our ability to respond to greater environmental challenges lying ahead.
To provide current and future leaders with the tools needed to advance green, structural change, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) has developed a new course on Green Industrial Policy: Promoting Competitiveness and Structural Transformation, The course can be taken online at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s CC:e-Learn platform.
In an interview, Mr. Nikhil Seth, the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) discusses how education and learning can underpin a green economic recovery from COVID-19.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and many other leaders, have spoken to the need for a green economic recovery from COVID-19. Why do we need such a recovery?
Tackling the climate crisis—and socio-economic impacts of COVID-19—will require a holistic approach to recovery planning and policymaking. By adopting innovative and green economy policies, countries can pave the way for economic recovery and sustainable jobs based on new and environmentally sensitive business models. At the same time, they can accelerate the structural shift of resource- and carbon-intensive sectors onto greener trajectories, advancing the transition towards a greener and more resilient global economy. However, the success of these measures is contingent on countries also investing in learning. As Nicholas Stern, Joseph Stiglitz, and other renowned economists have recently observed, investment in education and training—to “address immediate unemployment from COVID-19 and structural shifts from decarbonisation”—is a key multiplier for economic recovery and climate action.
What barriers do countries face in implementing a green economic recovery from COVID-19, and how can education and training help to overcome these?
One major practical challenge to implementing a green recovery lies in ensuring that countries are equipped with the knowledge and skills to do so. While there is an established rulebook available to governments to drive conventional recovery, that is not the case for the type of recovery we need at this point in time. Building the capacities and skills base of policymakers and relevant stakeholders is therefore central to success, and here the Partnership for Action on Green Economy’s (PAGE) “Learning for a Green Recovery” initiative could not be more timely.
UNITAR, in collaboration with other UN agencies, is set to launch a package of free-of-charge, e-Learning courses that address policy issues central to the green recovery debate, including green economy, fiscal reform, trade, green industrial policy, green indicators, and sustainable finance. All courses are now available on UNITAR’s flagship UN CC:e-Learn platform, which has attracted a growing number of users throughout the COVID-19 crisis—showing that e-courses represent an increasingly vital learning tool. Read more…
