As much as we could wish otherwise, the world has evolved. From what I remember, it looked very different a few years ago. It might change drastically from here on out. We need to decide in the future.
Governments should concentrate on a few key areas for a sustainable economic revival.
Go Beyond Gross Domestic Product
GDP has been the primary indicator of economic development for nearly a century. Political leaders, banks, and businesses all support economic progress.
Economic growth is assumed to positively affect people's standard of living under this framework.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is sometimes misunderstood as a gauge of national or global affluence; in actuality, however, GDP gauges only the volume, not the quality, of commercial activity. For example, South Korea and Portugal, which have lower GDPs than the US, enjoy a superior quality of life.
Currently, the focus on GDP is directly harmful to the planet. Expanding economies use more resources and produce more pollution. Countries have already polluted, degraded vast expanses of land and ocean, extracted more materials than the world can replenish, and made enough carbon to guarantee serious climate change.
To reduce environmental damage in the future, nations will need to embrace new metrics for success that put people first and emphasize degrowth (the deliberate contraction of economies while dispersing income more equitably).
Revamp Infrastructure
The combustion of fossil fuels mostly produces greenhouse gases to provide electricity and heat. Therefore, countries must alter their energy generation methods and increase the energy efficiency of their buildings, residences, and infrastructure to reduce climate change impacts.
Countries have historically been slow to achieve this shift. However, two things have happened that give hope that this change can occur more quickly: governments have raised huge sums of money to combat the coronavirus, and communities have quickly adapted to the needs of social separation.
Substituting renewable energy sources like wind and solar for fossil fuel infrastructure necessitates huge expenditures and swift action. The pandemic proved beyond a reasonable doubt the feasibility of these two possibilities.
Transport
The World Resources Institute (WRI) recommends that governments subsidize electric vehicles where vehicles are more vital. At the same time, cities invest in cycling and pedestrian walkways by reconverting major streets into sidewalks, extending no-car zones, and upgrading park spaces.
Transform Agriculture
First, nations should back efforts to shift from industrial to sustainable farming practices. Monoculture farming, forest clearance, water depletion, soil deterioration, and the decimation of wildlife due to widespread pesticide usage are all characteristics of industrial agriculture. On the other side, sustainable agriculture works to cultivate crops without causing harm to the environment.
By funding small farmers, bolstering farmer unions, and maintaining environments in a way that permits wildlife to thrive, farmers and governments can help preserve agriculture.
Circular Economies
Because of the widespread use of PPE in hospitals to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the amount of medical equipment discarded incresed exponentialy. Unfortunately, because of the complexity of processing, disinfecting, and managing this medical equipment, its disposal exemplifies how the global system for handling waste is now dysfunctional.
