Key messages:
- Governments around the world have invested about $12 trillion to counteract the economic effects of COVID-19. This investment could contribute to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)and global climate targets if invested within a framework that supports both socioeconomic recovery and sustainability. Expenditures must be monitored to deliver multiple benefits simultaneously and guide rebuilding better.
- COVID-19 increases poverty and limits access to food. The right to food is a basic human right and should always have highest priority. During a pandemic, food security is a precondition for successfully fighting the virus. Hungry people will not accept measures like social distancing and lockdowns.
- So far, we have only limited information on the concrete impacts of COVID-19 on the environment, food systems and the SDGs. Initial analysis indicates that investments for economic recovery do not sufficiently address sustainability, concentrating instead on immediate economic risk management. The risk that COVID-19 is undermining sustainable development, especially sustainable food systems, has not yet been addressed.
- The global sustainable development agenda must promote the resilience and sustainability of food systems via a framework of policies and measures that (i) account for environmental thresholds and trade-offs; (ii) promote food security and healthy diets; (iii) enhance and protect rural livelihoods; and (iv) address the inequalities and injustices that have emerged during the crises and that will also prevail during a post-COVID transition. UNEP will play an important role in ensuring that rebuilding better does not lose sight of these important considerations.
