COP26 was described as "our last chance saloon" to save the planet. Over 35,000 delegates from 197 countries travelled to host-city Glasgow, and at the end we had a new climate agreement – the Glasgow Climate Pact, which will set the global climate agenda to 2030. But in the months since the response to COP26 has been predictably mixed – so what did it all really mean? In the final episode of our series, we speak to Angus Mackay (UNITAR), Jayati Ghosh (University of Massachusetts Amherst,...

Our food systems are failing us. Over 800 million people are suffering from hunger, while 13% of the world’s population are obese. So what is to blame? Agricultural production follows the money. And 87% of the $540 billion given to agricultural producers each year is either price distorting or harmful to nature and human health. So what we can do to fix it? In Episode 10, we find our answers at the high-level launch of UNDP, UNEP and FAO's new report: "A Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity:...

It's been said that pandemics act as a "great leveller" – but has that been the case with COVID-19?  While it’s created millions of new millionaires – and even so-called “COVID billionaires” – it's also pushed 100 million others into extreme poverty. So should we be surprised? Or has COVID-19 simply exposed and amplified a series of inequalities that existed long before the virus arrived? In Episode 9, we sit down for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Ashok Khosla (Development Alternatives)...

This month: reflections from PAGE@ HLPF 2021. How can governments grasp the opportunity to turn economic recovery into long-term, sustainable economic transformation - while also advancing on the SDGs? (The answer: a mix of finance, private sector incentives, citizen engagement, and partnerships). In Episode 8, we compile the best parts from PAGE's flagship event at the UN High-Level Political Forum. Featuring Guy Ryder (International Labour Organization), Inger Andersen (United Nations...

Peru stands at a crossroads. Three-quarters of its workers are informal or self-employed. The country’s diverse natural resources–which serve as the backbone of its economy and labour market–are also under threat. So what is it doing to change the script? How is it addressing labour challenges and ensuring decent employment for all while also promoting green jobs as part of a just transition? In Episode 7, we sit down for an open discussion with Katia Samanamud (Ministry of Labour for Peru)...

Just over a year ago, as COVID-19 was causing personal, social and economic devastation across the world, government leaders were quick to announce their plans to “build back better” as part of a green recovery. At the time, we all listened. But were we too quick to take these statements at face value? 12 months on, have governments really been matching these commitments with action on the ground? In Episode 6, we sit down for an open debate with Steven Stone (United Nations Environment...

Take, make, dispose, repeat. Those four words underpin everything that we do in our daily lives. But at what cost to people, and our planet? COVID-19 has highlighted the wastefulness of our current economic model. So how do we embrace the switch from lines to loops - or from a linear to a circular economy - as part of a green recovery? In Episode 5, Miranda Schnitger (Ellen MacArthur Foundation), Nilgun Tas (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) and Paula Iharur (CTplas –...

COVID-19 is the product of a biodiversity crisis, and has shown that impacts from nature can be more devastating and immediate than those from climate change. To reset our relationship with nature – and avoid financing ourselves into extinction – how do we redirect finance flows to create a more a nature-positive economy tomorrow? In Episode 4, we speak to Onno van den Heuvel (United Nations Development Programme), Andrew Mitchell (Global Canopy and Equilibrium Futures) and Gwen Yu (BNP...

COVID-19 has caused a seismic shift in the world of work. With up to 500 million jobs said to be lost due to the impacts of the pandemic, how can green jobs reverse this trend? Why must governments ensure that a green recovery leaves no worker behind? And how do we address the growing youth unemployment crisis? In Episode 3, we speak to Moustapha Kamal Gueye (International Labour Organization), Khoudia Kane Lo (Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Senegal), and Gountiéni...

In 2020, the world agreed on the need for a green recovery from COVID-19. Now in 2021, the focus turns towards implementing it in practice. But how? What policies can we take inspiration from? And how have governments been approaching this challenge so far? In Episode 2, we speak to Asad Naqvi (Head of the Partnership for Action on Green Economy Secretariat), Norbert Gorißen (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) and Jenitha Badul (Department of...

An increasing number of policymakers, financiers and economists have joined the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling for a green recovery from COVID-19. But what does this actually mean? What obstacles will we have to overcome to implement this in practice? And has the global response to COVID-19 so far made our prospects of doing so more or less likely? In Episode 1, we speak to Elliott Harris (Chief Economist of the United Nations), Jayati Ghosh (Executive Secretary...

In this final episode, Colm Hastings (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) sits down with Colette van der Ven (TULIP Consulting, Sidley Austin LLP) to discuss the complex interface of green industrial policy and trade, including some of the ways in which trade policy can support green industrial policy objectives.

In this episode, Colm Hastings (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) sits down with Edward Clarence-Smith (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) to discuss some of the policy instruments and approaches available to countries wishing to advance green, structural change.

In this episode, Colm Hastings (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) sits down with Edward Clarence-Smith (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) to discuss some of the key steps and policy processes behind the strategic development of green industrial policy.

In this episode, Colm Hastings (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) sits down with Tilman Altenburg (German Development Institute) to discuss some of the conceptual foundations behind - and justifications for - green industrial policy.

In this first episode, Colm Hastings (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) sits down with Tilman Altenburg (German Development Institute) to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that "traditional" industrial policy approaches can generate for countries.