G20 Italy - COP26 Glasgow Global Briefing Report Review

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GLOBAL BRIEFING REPORT REVIEW ROME_ITALY_30-31 OCTOBER 2021

PEOPLE, PLANET AND PROSPERITY ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER

MARIO DARGHI

G 20 DECLARATION

GLOBAL ALLIANCE PARTNER

inc

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Innovative Nurture Community.

TRANSFORMING TO DELIVER A SMOKE-FREE FUTURE Philip Morris International (PMI) is widely known as a cigarette company. But in 2016, we began a seismic transformation to deliver a smoke-free future.

We are developing, scientifically substantiating, and responsibly commercializing smoke-free products to adults who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other nicotine products, with the aim of completely replacing cigarettes as soon as possible. These smoke-free products are not risk-free and contain nicotine, which is addictive, but are a better choice than continued smoking.

Indeed, with the right regulatory encouragement and support from civil society, we believe cigarette sales can end within 10 to 15 years in many countries.

JOIN US IN A SMOKE-FREE FUTURE. WWW.PMI.COM/TRANSFORM

We’ve made huge progress… …but we’re even more ambitious to secure a We are actively accelerating the decline of better future cigarette smoking beyond what can be achieved by traditional tobacco control measures alone.

14.7 million adults

As of June 30, 2021, 14.7 million adults have switched to our leading smoke-free product and stopped smoking. After just five years, our smoke-free products are now available in 67 markets and already account for 29 percent of our total net revenues.

USD 8.1bn

We have invested USD 8.1bn in these products to date, employing more than 930 scientists, engineers, and technicians to accelerate our journey.

We’ve set objectives to measure our progress toward a smoke-free future. By 2025, we aim for more than half of our total net revenues to come from our smoke-free portfolio.

“Beyond Nicotine”

We’re also targeting USD 1 billion in net revenues from “Beyond Nicotine” areas— including drug delivery and self-care wellness products—by 2025.

Additionally

By 2023, we aim to equip 100 percent of our electronic smoke-free devices with age verification technology. By 2025, our goal is for every contracted farmer supplying tobacco to PMI to be earning a living wage. And we’ve revised our 2030 carbon-neutral target for our direct operations (scope 1+2) to 2025.

Our purpose—to deliver a smoke-free future—is within reach. Additionally this could bring to adults who would otherwise continue to smoke— and consequently to global public health—are enormous. We are determined to deliver that future.

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An Industry in Transformation

By Jacek Olczak

This is a time like no other for corporations and their leaders. A time when the challenges facing our world require global and ambitious action.

Companies must build long-term value for a broad range of stakeholders and help create a better, more sustainable future. This is the measure by which our consumers, our employees, our shareholders, and society judge us.

And rightfully so.

At Philip Morris International (PMI), we have long embraced this mindset of driving positive change. And we have made significant progress on what we know is the biggest positive impact our company can have on

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society: replacing cigarettes with better alternatives for those men and women who would otherwise continue to smoke.

For PMI, science has changed our company and is transforming our industry. Today, PMI is a science and technology-minded company developing and making available to smokers science-backed smoke-free products, which, while not risk-free, are significantly better alternatives to cigarettes for those who would otherwise continue smoking.

Our ambition is to convince all adult smokers who don’t quit to replace combustible tobacco products, like

cigarettes, with smoke-free products, which are a much better alternative than continued smoking.

Such a dramatic paradigm shift does not happen in a day. For PMI, it has required a complete change to our entire business model. We are essentially becoming an electronicsand technology-driven company and transforming our business from the inside out.

Delivering a smoke-free future is not a vague declaration. That statement of mission represents a large-scale, measurable effort to transform our business for the benefit of both the tens of millions of men

and women who currently smoke, and public health more generally.

• To date, we have invested more than $8 billion USD in research, development, commercialization, and manufacturing capabilities for smoke-free products.

• More than 930 R&D positions, including scientists, technicians, and engineers work to continuously innovate and enhance our smokefree portfolio.

• In 2020, 99 percent of our R&D expenditure was dedicated to smokefree products, as well as 76 percent of our commercial expenditure.

Our vision of a smoke-free future—a world where cigarettes are replaced by less harmful alternatives that do not involve burning and smoke—is one that we are well on our way to delivering.

• In the quarter ended June 30, 2021, smoke-free products accounted for almost 30 percent of our total net revenues globally. By 2025, we aim to be a majority smoke-free business—generating at least 50 percent of net revenues from these products.

• As of June 30, 2021, we estimate that 14.7 million adults worldwide have already switched to our leading smoke-free product and stopped smoking. Many others have switched to a variety of smoke-free alternatives that, like regulated e-cigarettes, are better than continued smoking. This is a profound public health achievement and one that can be further accelerated.

And we are not stopping there.

The science and technology we have developed and acquired in recent years allow us to look beyond nicotine and expand into products and solutions that will have a positive impact on society. Building on the company’s investment and expertise in aerosol chemistry and physics, device technology, clinical research, and best-in-class preclinical safety and inhalation models, PMI is developing a pipeline focused on inhaled therapeutics for medical and wellness applications. By 2025, it is

our ambition that Beyond Nicotine products will generate at least USD 1 billion in total net revenues. Science, technology, and sustainability are at the heart of PMI’s future.

Although we are leaders in other areas of sustainability, too, we recognize at PMI that the most significant impact we can have is to keep working on reducing the harm caused by smoking. That must be our first priority. The best decision is always to quit smoking and nicotine use altogether (or better still, never to start). But we know that in any given year, the majority of people who smoke will continue to do so. Better alternatives now exist for adults who would otherwise continue smoking.

These people deserve access to these products and to non-misleading information about them.

As a company committed to transformative change, we are doing our part, but we cannot achieve a smoke-free future alone. We ask others—including policymakers—to play their role and help accelerate a long-due shift. We can achieve this ambition much faster if everyone plays their role. In fact, with the right regulatory encouragement and support from civil society, we believe we can see an end to the sale of cigarettes in many countries within 10 to 15 years. ◆

Delivering a smokefree future is not a vague declaration.

That statement of mission represents a large-scale, measurable effort to transform our business for the benefit of both the tens of millions of men and women who currently smoke, and public health more generally.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W CONTENTS

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COP26 CONTENTS

F E AT U R E S

F E AT U R E S

C O V E R S T O RY

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G 20 DECLARATION

An Address from President Mario Draghi

How the Business Sector Fosters Trust to LeadCOVID-19 Recovery

By Anna Kompanek & Andrew Wilson

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An Address from Prime Minister Joko Widoko

To Truly Transform the Food System, Look to Ecuador

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By Rosa Rodriguez

The G20 Advisory Board to the Italian Presidency

112 Evergrande Crisis Cracks in China’s Growth Strategy

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By Richard Rousseau

B20 Italy

By Emma Marcegaglia

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Own Your Health

By Daniella Foster

The Contribution of Long-Term Investors, Private Sector Think Tanks in Infrastructure Investment to Support Recovery

118 G20 Must Help Low Income Countries Get Out of Debt Crisis

By Joël Ruet

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The New Global Role of Business

Building a Prosperous Future in Africa

By Peter Vandell & Terrence Mutuswa

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B20 & T20 Statement

Is the G20 Meeting Expectations

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By IOE

W20 Communique

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How the Maldives Persevered: Natural Blessing and Industry Determination

COP26 Explained

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Branded Stories

How to Change Course When Things are Going South

By Ana C. Rold

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Universities Take Coordinated Action to Address the Climate Crisis

Pandemic Governance

By Prof. Tim Allen

By Annelise Riles & The University of Toronto and University of Edinburgh Presidential Delegates to the U7+ Alliance

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Science and its Limits Drawing on Lessons Learnt on African Health Crisis

By Dr Liz Storer & Dr. Nikita Simpson

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COP26

PUBLISHER/CEO & FOUNDER Chris Atkins

GLOBAL BRIEFING REPORT REVIEW ROME_ITALY_30-31 OCTOBER 2021

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Christian Gilliham christian@cgcreate.co.uk (+44) 7951 722265

PEOPLE, PLANET AND PROSPERITY ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER

MARIO DARGHI

G 20 DECLARATION

GLOBAL ALLIANCE PARTNER

inc

groupofnations.COM

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Innovative Nurture Community.

EVP OPERATIONS Jennifer Latchman-Atkins

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EXECUTIVES James Regis Richard Reale Phil Cook Anthony Leigh Jones Jennifer Latchman-Atkins

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Kestone CrossTech CPA Canada Tracit.org DirtLocker

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TMA Liechtenstein Bank AkzoNobel Issuu Stikwood

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Philip Morris International Middle East Institute Group of Nations Mayin Art G7 UK Issue Globus Eurasia Group jic.gov.jo Turkish Airlines Kestone Saudi German Health

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Northwestern University CGcreate NBF CPA Canada Tracit.org Sun Siyam Resorts Siyam World Maldives AkzoNobel Issuu Turtle Islands CrossTech

Copyright 2021 the CAT Company All rights reserved. The G7/G20/B20 Publication is a product of CAT Company.

No part of this publication can be reproduced without written consent of the publisher Chris Atkins and the CAT Company. All trademarks that appear in this publication are the property of the respective owners. Any and all companies featured in this publication are contacted by CAT Company to provide advertising and/or services. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication, however, CAT Company makes no warranties, express or implied in regards to the information, and disclaim all liability for any loss, damages, errors, or omissions.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W EDITORIAL

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COP26

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Chris Atkins PUBLISHER, CEO & FOUNDER CAT COMPANY, INC.

Dear Readers, Firstly, I hope you and yours are keeping safe and healthy.

What a difficult last 20 months, with the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering, and no G7 Summit for the first time in 24 years, and a G20 virtual summit, 2020 was indeed a year to remember.

In our own world of publishing, everything has also been upside down.

This year marks an auspicious milestone for The CAT Company and myself. My 25th anniversary of publishing the G7 Summit publication has now evolved to the Group of Nations brand and Global Briefing Report Review. We are constantly changing and pioneering new and engaging ways for our audiences.

Our company’s mission has been and continues to be to educate the global community on the most vital topics affecting our society and the agenda and leaders at the G7, G20, APEC and all related summits.

With our award-winning Group of Nations Global Briefing Report, we have created an unprecedented opportunity for private sector leaders and civil society to have a voice

at these summits even when they don’t have a physical seat at the table.

I want to thank all our Knowledge Partners for their help in making these publications an excellent resource for the G20, G7 and APEC global community to understand better the vital work that needs to be accomplished to make the world a better place for us now and for future generations.

We are also extremely excited about our new venture. On November 17th, the Group of Nations “Solutions through Inclusivity” G20- G7 fully immersive Virtual summit will take place. We have over 50 speakers from world-renowned organizations who have joined forces with us to be our knowledge partners, all doing their part in helping to have a more inclusive dialogue.

You can register here. I also hope you enjoy the 12th annual G20 Italy issue featuring COP26.

Our team is excited and already working on next year’s publications and Summits.

Do reach out to us with your ideas and questions, and we will be happy to work with you.

25 CELEBRATING YEARS

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OF G7 PUBLISHING

Celebrating 25 years of Publishing the Authoritative G20, B20 and G7 Global Briefing Reports

25 CELEBRATING YEARS

OF G7 PUBLISHING

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS

Prime Minister of Italy

Mario

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS

In recent years we have witnessed a progressive weakening of multilateralism, which has guaranteed peace, security and prosperity since the post-war period.

However, we are now facing problems that we cannot solve on our own. I am referring to the pandemic and to the risk of new and dangerous variants of the virus: climate change and the protection of biodiversity.

The economic recovery and the fight against inequalities and food insecurity.

Conflict resolution and the fight against terrorism. These issues are at the heart of the General Assembly and of our Government’s agenda. They are also at the core of the Italian Presidency of the G20, whose motto is “People, Planet and Prosperity”. We need to relaunch multilateralism and make it effective to meet the challenges of our times.

More than a year and a half after the beginning of the global health crisis, we can finally look at the future with greater optimism. The vaccination campaign gives us confidence in our ability to return to a new normal. →

More than a year and a half after the beginning of the global health crisis, we can finally look at the future with greater optimism.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS

→ In Italy and in Europe we have reopened most economic activities.

Students have returned to schools and universities. After months of loneliness, our social life has finally resumed.

However, the pandemic is not over and even when it will be, we will have to deal with its consequences for a long time.Globally, we face dramatic differences in the distribution of vaccines. In high-income countries, more than 65% of the population has received at least one dose.

In the poorest ones, only 2%. These disparities are morally unacceptable: fewer vaccinations mean more deaths.

And as long as the virus continues to circulate freely, it can mutate in dangerous ways and put even the most effective vaccination campaigns at risk.

We need to increase the availability of vaccines for poor countries and overcome logistical hurdles to distribute them where they are most needed.

Furthermore, we must preserve at the global level the free circulation of vaccines and of the raw materials needed to produce them. Italy gives its full political and financial support to the COVAX Facility. We intend to triple our donations from 15 to 45 million doses by the end of 2021, as part of a broader European effort. The huge differences in vaccination campaigns risk worsening inequalities between countries. The pandemic has had a negative social and economic effect on everyone, but the consequences for lower-income countries have been particularly severe. Even before the health crisis, these countries had significant economic vulnerabilities, starting with their debt levels. Many of their citizens lived below or just above the poverty line.

Advanced economies have been able to use monetary and fiscal policies more robustly to contain the economic shock.

They spent 28% of their 2020 gross domestic product to stimulate growth – compared with just 7% and 2% in emerging and low-income economies.

Economic divergence risks erasing years of progress in the fight against poverty, making it even more difficult to achieve sustainable development goals.

In particular, the pandemic has given new urgency to concerns about food systems.

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Extreme weather conditions and supply chain disruptions have contributed to the increase in food prices. In August the food price index rose by 32% compared to a year earlier.

According to the FAO, last year more than 2,3 billion people did not have access to adequate food on a regular basis. Under the Italian Presidency, the G20 has adopted a package of economic measures to help the world’s most fragile countries overcome the effects of the pandemic and assist them in their development. We supported the decision by the International Monetary Fund to issue new Special Drawing Rights for a total of $650 billion.

Of these resources, $33 billion are destined to African countries, and we are working to further increase this share. We have accelerated the refinancing of ‘IDA-20’, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

The Italian Presidency intends to facilitate comprehensive and sustainable debt restructuring in countries with excessive debt levels. Italy has also taken specific action on food security.

Together with the FAO, we have created the “Food Coalition” to combat malnutrition caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and we have hosted in Rome the Pre-Summit on Food Systems.

Nevertheless, we must be ready for even more ambitious action to support poorer countries, particularly in Africa. Italy intends to continue to ensure its support for the African continent, which is increasingly central for security and economic growth globally.

We must increase investment, to enable Africa’s youth to participate fully in its social, economic and political development. The other emergency that we have placed at the core of our G20 Presidency agenda is climate change.

The latest UN IPCC report shows that, without immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, we will fail to limit global warming to below 1,5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The number of climate-related natural disasters has increased fivefold since the 1960s.

Extreme weather events are expected to intensify over the next few decades.

Estimates from the World Health Organization show that climate change already causes 150,000 deaths

per year, which could become 250,000 between 2030 and 2050. We must act now to protect the planet, our economy and future generations.

As Presidency of the G20 and COP26 co-chair together with the United Kingdom, Italy intends to reach ambitious goals on the three pillars of the Paris agreement: mitigation, adaptation and finance.

Over the next decade, we must reduce as much as possible CO2 emissions produced by fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases, including methane.

And we must work to adapt our infrastructure to climate shocks that have become increasingly frequent and violent. Italy strongly supports the leading role of the

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT STRAPLINE

More than a year and a half after the beginning of the global health crisis, we can finally look at the future with greater optimism.

European Union in the ecological transition, and in particular its commitment to a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 and to net zero emissions by 2050. However, the EU currently accounts for only 8% of global emissions, while G20 countries are responsible for 75%. The fight against

climate change requires multilateral engagement and pragmatic cooperation among all major global players – both rich and emerging economies. We must act in an effective, coordinated and simultaneous manner, whilst always respecting national specificities. We intend to reach a global agreement to stop the use of coal as soon as possible, and, consistently with this objective, block the financing of new projects of this kind. We want to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels and promote the use of renewable sources.

The environmental transition has significant costs and it is essential that governments stand ready to help citizens and businesses. But it can also be an engine of economic growth.

According to a recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the renewables sector could employ more than 40 million people by 2050. In Italy and in the European Union at large we have embarked on a path of reforms and investment – “Next Generation EU” – to make the most of these opportunities.

We hope that the “Roundtable on Climate” promoted last Monday by Secretary-General Guterres and Prime Minister Johnson will give further impetus to the negotiations that will take us to the G20 Summit in Rome and to the COP26 in Glasgow.

President of the Council Mario Draghi’s speech in the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

President of the Republic of Indonesia

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

His Excellency President of the UN General Assembly, His Excellency UN Secretary General, Your Excellencies Leaders of UN Member Countries, The outcome of the 76th General Assembly of the UN is eagerly awaited by the global community to answer major global issues. When will the people be freed from the pandemic? When will the economy rebuild and grow inclusively?

How do we sustain the planet for the future? And when will the world be freed from conflicts, terrorism, and war? In light of the recent global situation, there are many things we need to do together.

First, we must hope that we can tackle COVID-19 pandemic swiftly, fairly, and evenly. We know that “no one is safe until everyone is”. The capacity and pace among countries in handling COVID-19, including vaccination drive, differs widely. Politicization and discrimination towards vaccines continue to persist. We have to address these issues with concrete steps. In the future, we have to reorganize the global health security system. →

The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the importance of diversification of vaccine production centers around the world.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

Indonesia plays a strategic role in addressing climate change. Therefore, we will continue to make the best efforts to fulfill our commitment.

In 2020, Indonesia succeeded in reducing the number of forest fires by 82 percent compared to that in the previous years. → New mechanisms are necessary to mobilize global health resources, including financing, vaccines, medicines, medical equipment, and health workers worldwide quickly and evenly. Global health protocol standards also must be implemented in crossborder activities, including vaccines criteria, test results, and other medical conditions. Second, global economic recovery can only be achieved if the pandemic is under control and all countries join hands and help one another to rebuild the economy.

Indonesia, along with other developing countries, openly accepts quality investments. – investments that create GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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more job opportunities, carry out transfer of technology, develop the capacity of human capital, contribute to sustainability. Third, Indonesia has a firm and clear commitment toward climate resilience, low carbon development, and green technology However, the energy and technology transformation process must facilitate developing countries so that they can be involved in industry development and become technology producers. The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the importance of diversification of vaccine production centers around the world.

Fourth, we have to be thoughtful in fighting against intolerance, conflicts,

terrorism, and war. Peace in diversity and the protection of women’s and minority rights must be enforced.

Potentials for use of force and women alienation in Afghanistan, issue on Palestinian independence, and political crisis in Myanmar must be our common interest. The ASEAN Leaders have met in Jakarta and agreed on the FivePoint Consensus in which the implementation needs the Myanmar military’s commitment.

The great hope of the global community must be answered with our concrete steps and tangible results.

It is a responsibility that we must carry on our shoulders that the global community awaits. It is our duty to bring hope to the future of the world.

Your Excellencies, In 2022 Indonesia will chair the G20 Presidency under the theme of “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. Indonesia will make great efforts to ensure that the G20 can benefit all countries, including developed countries and developing countries, countries in the north and in the south, large and small countries, archipelagic countries and small island countries in the Pacific, as well as vulnerable groups that must be prioritized. Inclusiveness is a major priority for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.

This is Indonesia’s commitment to prove that there is no one left behind.

The green and sustainable economy will also be a priority. Indonesia plays a strategic role in addressing climate change. Therefore, we will continue to make the best efforts to fulfill our commitment. In 2020, Indonesia succeeded in reducing the number of forest fires by 82 percent compared to that in the previous years. The number of deforestation dropped significantly.

It is the lowest number in the last 20 years. At the global level, Indonesia aims to promote burden-sharing. In addressing global challenges, Indonesia reaffirms her hopes and supports for multilateralism. It is important for us to safeguard an effective multilateralism with concrete works and results. Let us work together, recover together, recover stronger. ◆ Address of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the General Debate Session of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations 23 September 2021

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W G 2 0 D E C L A R AT I O N

1. We, the Leaders of the G20, met in Rome on October 30th and 31st, to address today’s most pressing global challenges and to converge upon common efforts to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis and enable sustainable and inclusive growth in our Countries and across the world.

As the premier forum for international economic cooperation, we are committed to overcoming the global health and economic crisis stemming from the pandemic, which has affected billions of lives, dramatically hampered progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and disrupted global supply chains and international mobility. With this in mind, we express our profound gratitude to the health and care

professionals, frontline workers, international organizations and scientific community for their relentless efforts to cope with COVID-19.

2. Underlining the crucial role of multilateralism in finding shared, effective solutions, we have agreed to further strengthen our common response to the pandemic, and pave the way for a global recovery, with particular regard to the needs of the most vulnerable. We have taken decisive measures to support Countries most in need to overcome the pandemic, improve their resilience and address critical challenges such as ensuring food security and environmental sustainability. → 19

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population in all countries by the end of 2021 and 70 percent by mid-2022, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)’s global vaccination strategy, we will take steps to help boost the supply of vaccines and essential medical products and inputs in developing countries and remove relevant supply and financing constraints. We ask our Health Ministers to monitor progress toward this end and to explore ways to accelerate global vaccination as necessary.

→ We have agreed upon a shared vision to combat climate change, and taken important steps towards the achievement of gender equality. We have also further advanced in our common efforts to ensure that the benefits of digitalization are shared broadly, safely and contribute to reducing inequalities.

3. Global economy. Over 2021, global economic activity has been recovering at a solid pace, thanks to the roll-out of vaccines and continued policy support.

However, the recovery remains highly divergent across and within countries, and exposed to downside risks, in particular the possible spread of new variants of COVID-19 and uneven vaccination paces. We remain determined to use all available tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of the pandemic, in particular on those most impacted, such as women, youth, and informal and low-skilled workers, and on inequalities. We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures, while preserving financial stability and long-term fiscal sustainability and safeguarding against downside risks and negative spill-overs. Central banks are monitoring current price dynamics closely. They will act as needed to meet GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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their mandates, including price stability, while looking through inflation pressures where they are transitory and remaining committed to clear communication of policy stances.

We remain vigilant to the global challenges that are impacting on our economies, such as disruptions in supply chains. We will work together to monitor and address these issues as our economies recover and to support the stability of the global economy.

We commit to advancing the forwardlooking agenda set in the G20 Action Plan as updated in April 2021 and we welcome the fourth Progress Report.

We reaffirm the commitments on exchange rates made by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in April 2021.

4. Health. Recognizing that vaccines are among the most important tools against the pandemic, and reaffirming that extensive COVID-19 immunization is a global public good, we will advance our efforts to ensure timely, equitable and universal access to safe, affordable, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, with particular regard to the needs of lowand middle-income countries. To help advance toward the global goals of vaccinating at least 40 percent of the

5. We will reinforce global strategies to support research and development as well as to ensure their production and swift and equitable distribution worldwide, also by strengthening supply chains and by expanding and diversifying global vaccine manufacturing capacity at local and regional level, while promoting vaccine acceptance, confidence and fighting disinformation. To this end, we commit to refrain from WTO inconsistent export restrictions and to increase transparency and predictability in the delivery of vaccines. We reiterate our support to all pillars of the ACTAccelerator, including COVAX, and will continue to improve its effectiveness. |We support the extension of ACT-A’s mandate throughout 2022 and acknowledge the formation of the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19. We welcome the work undertaken by the COVAX ACT-A Facilitation Council Vaccine Manufacturing Working Group and its report aimed at creating a broader base for vaccine manufacturing. In particular, we will support increasing vaccine distribution, administration and local manufacturing capacity in LMICs, including through technology transfer hubs in various regions, such as the newly established mRNA Hubs in South Africa, Brazil and Argentina, and through joint production and processing arrangements. We will work together towards the recognition of COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe and efficacious by the WHO and in accordance with national legislation and circumstances, and to strengthen the organization’s ability regarding approval of vaccines, including

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optimizing procedures and processes, with the aim of broadening the list of vaccines authorized for emergency use (EUL), while continuing to protect public health and ensuring privacy and data protection. As a collective G20 effort, and in light of the enduring vaccination gaps, we commit to substantially increase the provision of and access to vaccines, as well as to therapeutics and diagnostics. We will enhance our efforts to ensure the transparent, rapid and predictable delivery and uptake of vaccines where they are needed. We call on the private sector and on multilateral financial institutions to contribute to this endeavor. We acknowledge the work of the World Bank Group in this respect and of the IMF and the WHO through the vaccine supply forecast dashboard.

6. We reaffirm our commitment to the Global Health Summit Rome Declaration as a compass for collective action and are committed to strengthening global health governance. We support the ongoing work on strengthening the leading and coordination role of an adequately and sustainably funded WHO. We acknowledge that financing for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) has to become more adequate, more sustainable and better coordinated and requires a continuous cooperation between health and finance decision-makers, including to address potential financing gaps, mobilizing an appropriate mix of existing multilateral financing mechanisms and explore setting up new financing mechanisms.

We establish a G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force aimed at enhancing dialogue and global cooperation on issues relating to pandemic PPR, promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices, developing coordination arrangements between Finance and Health Ministries, promoting collective action, assessing and addressing health emergencies with cross-border impact, and encouraging effective stewardship of resources for pandemic PPR, while adopting a One Health approach. Within this context, this Task Force will work, and report back by early 2022, on modalities to establish a financial facility, to be designed inclusively with the central coordination role

We reaffirm our commitment to the Global Health Summit Rome Declaration as a compass for collective action and are committed to strengthening global health governance. We support the ongoing work on strengthening the leading and coordination role of an adequately and sustainably funded WHO.

of the WHO, G20-driven and engaging from the outset Low- and Middle-Income Countries, additional non-G20 partners and Multilateral Development Banks, to ensure adequate and sustained financing for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

7. We reaffirm our commitment to achieve the health-related SDGs, in particular Universal Health Coverage.

We welcome multilateral efforts aimed at supporting and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response, including consideration of a possible international instrument or agreement in the context of the WHO, and at strengthening implementation of and compliance with the International Health Regulations 2005. We commit to pursue a One Health approach at global, regional, national and local levels. To this end, we will enhance global surveillance, early detection and early warning systems, under the coordinating role of the WHO, FAO, OIE and UNEP, and address risks emerging from the human-animal-environment interface, particularly the emergence of zoonotic diseases, while pursuing global efforts to fight antimicrobial resistance, while ensuring access to antimicrobials and their prudent stewardship, and continuing to address other critical

issues, including non-communicable diseases and mental health.

Acknowledging the importance of swiftly reacting to pandemics, we will support science to shorten the cycle for the development of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics from 300 to 100 days following the identification of such threats and work to make them widely available.

8. We reaffirm the importance of ensuring the continuity of health services beyond COVID-19 and of strengthening national health systems and primary health care services, in light of the repercussions of the pandemic on mental health and wellbeing, due to isolation, unemployment, food insecurity, increased violence against women and girls and constrained access to education as well as health services, including sexual and reproductive health, paying special attention to women and girls and to the needs of the most vulnerable. We will continue to support initiatives aimed at fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We will pursue our efforts to enhance innovation in digital and other health-related technologies, taking into account the need to protect personal health data, encourage voluntary technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, and work with the → 21

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→ WHO towards updating and reinforcing public health workforce operation standards through enhanced health curricula and training materials.

To this end, we will pursue our engagement with the Global Innovation Hub for Improving Value in Health and we welcome the launch of the WHO Academy and initiatives such as the Public Health Workforce Laboratorium proposed by the Italian G20 Presidency.

9. Sustainable Development. We remain deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, especially in developing countries, which has set back progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We reaffirm our commitment to a global response to accelerate progress on the implementation of the SDGs and to support a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery across the world, able to promote equity and accelerate progress on all SDGs, recognizing the importance of nationally owned strategies, SDG localization, women

and youth empowerment, sustainable production and responsible consumption patterns, and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. We will strengthen our actions to implement the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the G20 Support to COVID-19 Response and Recovery in developing countries, building on the 2021 Rome Update, with particular regard to the most vulnerable countries.

We welcome the progress made and reiterate our continued support to African Countries, in particular through the G20 Initiative on Supporting the Industrialization in Africa and LDCs, the G20 Africa Partnership, the Compact with Africa and other relevant initiatives. We remain committed to addressing illicit financial flows.

10. Support to vulnerable countries.

We welcome the new general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), implemented by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 23 August 2021, which has made available the

equivalent of USD 650 billion in additional reserves globally. We are working on actionable options for members with strong external positions to significantly magnify its impact through the voluntary channelling of part of the allocated SDRs to help vulnerable countries, according to national laws and regulations. We welcome the recent pledges worth around USD 45 billion, as a step towards a total global ambition of USD 100 billion of voluntary contributions for countries most in need. We also welcome the ongoing work to significantly scale up the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust’s lending capacity and call for further voluntary loan and subsidy contributions from countries able to do so. We also call on the IMF to establish a new Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) – in line with its mandate – to provide affordable long-term financing to help low-income countries, including in the African continent, small island developing states, and vulnerable middle-income countries to reduce risks to prospective balance of payments stability, including those stemming from pandemics and climate change. The new RST will preserve the reserve asset characteristics of the SDRs channelled through the Trust. Our Finance Ministers look forward to further discussion of surcharge policy at the IMF Board in the context of the precautionary balances interim review.

11. We welcome the progress achieved under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which is also agreed to by the Paris Club. Preliminary estimates point to at least USD 12.7 billion of total debt service deferred, under this initiative, between May 2020 and December 2021, benefitting 50 countries. We welcome the recent progress on the Common Framework for debt treatment beyond the DSSI. We commit to step up our efforts to implement it in a timely, orderly and coordinated manner. These enhancements would give more certainty to debtor countries and facilitate the IMF’s Page 5 of 20 and MDBs’ quick provision of f inancial support. We look forward to progress in the current negotiations

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under the Common Framework.

We stress the importance for private creditors and other official bilateral creditors to provide debt treatments on terms at least as favourable, in line with the comparability of treatment principle. We recall the forthcoming work of the MDBs, as stated in the Common Framework, in light of debt vulnerabilities. We affirm the importance of joint efforts by all actors, including private creditors, to continue working towards enhancing debt transparency. We look forward to progress by the IMF and World Bank Group on their proposal of a process to strengthen the quality and consistency of debt data and improve debt disclosure.

12. We reaffirm the crucial role of the Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) long-term support towards achieving the SDGs. Acknowledging the high financing needs of low income countries, we look forward to an ambitious IDA20 replenishment by December 2021, including through the sustainable use of IDA’s balance sheet.

We also look forward to the future African Development Fund-16 replenishment. We welcome the launch of the Independent Review of MDBs’ Capital Adequacy Frameworks and the G20 Recommendations on the use of Policy-Based lending, which will help maximize the impact of MDB operations.

13. International Financial Architecture. We reiterate our commitment to strengthening longterm financial resilience and supporting inclusive growth, including through promoting sustainable capital flows, developing local currency capital markets and maintaining a strong and effective Global Financial Safety Net with a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at its centre.

We look forward to the forthcoming review of the IMF’s Institutional View on the liberalisation and management of capital flows, informed, among others, by the Integrated Policy Framework. We remain committed to revisiting the adequacy of IMF quotas and will continue the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th

General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, by 15 December 2023.

14. Recognizing the importance of strengthening the alignment of all sources of Financing for Sustainable Development with the SDGs and the need to address the related financing gaps, in line with existing commitments, we endorse the G20 Framework for Voluntary Support to Integrated National Financing Frameworks, the G20 High-Level Principles on Sustainability-Related Financial Instruments and the G20 Common Vision on SDG Alignment, noting the importance of transparency and mutual accountability. We also ask our Development and Finance Ministers to further enhance their cooperation.

15. Food security, nutrition, agriculture and food systems. We are committed to achieving food security and adequate nutrition for all, leaving no one behind.

To this end, we endorse the Matera Declaration and its Call to Action. We encourage partners and stakeholders to collaborate with or join the Food Coalition launched by the FAO as a means to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition. We are concerned by famine conditions and acute food insecurity fuelled by armed conflicts in many parts of the world, particularly in the countries listed in the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises. We will foster sustainable and resilient food systems and agriculture innovation, which are vital to end hunger and malnutrition, eradicate poverty and ensure sustainability, also by increasing access to finance through responsible investment, developing and improving

early warning programmes, reducing food loss and waste along the food value chain, improving livelihoods for small-holder and marginal farmers and better integrating urban-rural interface. We recognize that promoting sustainable food systems, including by strengthening global, regional and local food value-chains and international food trade, will contribute not only to food security, but also make a major contribution to tackling the interlinked global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. We acknowledge the outcomes of the Food Systems Summit, including initiatives such as the School Meals Coalition, and invite all partners to contribute to its follow -up, highlighting the importance of reinforced co-ordination in food system policy-making and of improved financing tools for sustainable food systems.

16. Environment. We commit to strengthen actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and call on CBD Parties to adopt an ambitious, balanced, practical, effective, robust and transformative post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Kunming. We welcome the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, reaffirm the shared ambition to achieve a 50% reduction of degraded land by 2040 on a voluntary basis, and will strive to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030. We will build on the G20 Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats launched under Saudi Presidency and look forward to its upcoming Implementation Strategy. →

We reiterate our commitment to strengthening long-term financial resilience and supporting inclusive growth, including through promoting sustainable capital flows, developing local currency capital markets and maintaining a strong and effective Global Financial Safety Net with a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at its centre.

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→ We recognize the efforts made by a number of countries to adhere to the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature and to ensure that at least 30 % of global land and at least 30 % of the global ocean and seas are conserved or protected by 2030, and we will help to make progress towards this objective in accordance with national circumstances. We encourage and support others to make similarly ambitious commitments. We will pursue our efforts to ensure the conservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources and will take concrete measures to end overfishing, deliver on our commitment to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and combat crimes that affect the environment such as illegal logging, illegal mining, illegal wildlife trade and illegal movement and disposal of waste and hazardous substances.

We underline the many synergies in financial flows for climate, biodiversity and ecosystems, and we will strengthen those synergies to maximize co-benefits.

In this context, we recognize the importance of work on nature-related financial disclosure.

17. We will scale up and encourage the implementation of Nature-based Solutions or Ecosystem-based Approaches as valuable tools providing economic, social, climate and environmental benefits including in and around cities, in an inclusive manner and through the participation of local communities and Indigenous Peoples. We will integrate the implementation of a One Health approach in relevant policies and decision-making processes. We recognize that water resources are globally at risk due to anthropogenic pressure. We will continue to share innovation and best practices, also as a means to support integrated water resources management, including through the G20 Dialogue on Water and the G20 Water Platform adopted under Saudi Presidency.

18. We commit to intensify our actions to conserve, protect, restore and sustainably use marine biodiversity and reiterate our commitment to the Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform launched under Saudi Presidency. We highlight the importance of parties to GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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UNCLOS making progress as soon as possible in the ongoing negotiations for an ambitious and balanced international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. In the context of the Antarctic Treaty System, we fully support, and encourage further progress to implement the longstanding commitment of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), recognizing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can serve as a powerful tool for protecting sensitive ecosystems representative of the Convention Area, in particular in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea and in the Antarctic Peninsula. We reaffirm our commitment to prohibit fishing subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, in line with the SDGs. In line with the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, we reaffirm our commitment to end Illegal, Unreported and

Unregulated fishing and to address marine plastic litter, building on the initiatives conducted, inter alia, by the UNEA, in view of strengthening existing instruments and developing a new global agreement or instrument.

19. Acknowledging the urgency of combating land degradation and creating new carbon sinks, we share the aspirational goal to collectively plant 1 trillion trees, focusing on the most degraded ecosystems in the planet, and urge other countries to join forces with the G20 to reach this global goal by 2030, including through climate projects, with the involvement of the private sector and civil society.

20. Cities and Circular Economy. We commit to increase resource efficiency, including through the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue and recognize the importance of cities as enablers of sustainable development and the need to improve sustainability, health, resilience and well-being in urban

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contexts as underlined by the Habitat III New Urban Agenda.

With the involvement of businesses, citizens, academia and civil society organizations, we will enhance our efforts towards achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns and management and reduction of emissions, including by adopting circular economy approaches, and will support local actions for climate mitigation and adaptation. We endorse the G20 Platform on SDG Localization and Intermediary Cities, with the support of the OECD and UN-Habitat.

We will support intermediary cities in adopting integrated and inclusive urban planning; accelerating their transitions towards clean and sustainable energy and sustainable mobility for all; improving waste management; fostering empowerment and decent work for women, youth, migrants and refugees; assisting disabled and elderly persons; enhancing food systems sustainability; and enabling more equitable access to digital innovations.

Partnerships like the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure could act as a vehicle to accelerate this agenda.

21. Energy and Climate. Responding to the call of the scientific community, noting with concern the recent reports of the IPCC and mindful of our leadership role, we commit to tackle the critical and urgent threat of climate change and to work collectively to achieve a successful UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow. To this end, we reaffirm our commitment to the full and effective implementation of the UNFCCC and of the Paris Agreement, taking action across mitigation, adaptation and finance during this critical decade, on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, reflecting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. We remain committed to the Paris Agreement goal to hold the global average temperature increase well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, also as a means to enable the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. → 25

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→ 22. We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5°C are much lower than at 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways that align long-term ambition with short- and medium-term goals, and with international cooperation and support, including finance and technology, sustainable and responsible consumption and production as critical enablers, in the context of sustainable development. We look forward to a successful COP26.

23. In this endeavour, informed by the IPCC assessments, we will accelerate our actions across mitigation, adaptation and finance, acknowledging the key relevance of achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions or carbon neutrality by or around midcentury and the need to strengthen global efforts required to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Accordingly, recognizing that G20 members can significantly contribute to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions, we commit, in line with the latest scientific developments and with national circumstances, to take further action this decade and to formulate, implement, update and enhance, where necessary, our 2030 NDCs, and to formulate Long-Term Strategies that set out clear and predictable pathways consistent with the achievement of a balance between anthropogenic emissions and removal by sinks by or around mid-century, taking into account different approaches, including the Circular Carbon Economy, socioeconomic, economic, technological, and market developments, and promoting the most efficient solutions.

We acknowledge the efforts made to date, including net zero and carbon neutrality commitments and new and ambitious NDCs and LTSs by G20 members, and those to come by or at COP26.

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We will deliver national recovery and resilience plans that allocate, according to national circumstances, an ambitious share of the financial resources to mitigating and adapting to climate change and avoid harm to the climate and environment. resources to mitigating and adapting to climate change and avoid harm to the climate and environment. We acknowledge the Sustainable Recovery Tracker developed in cooperation with the IEA, encouraging its update. In order to deploy the full potential of zero, low-emission, innovative, modern and

clean solutions, we will collaborate to accelerate the development and deployment of the most efficient and effective solutions and help them rapidly achieve cost parity and commercial viability, including to ensure access to clean energy for all, especially in developing countries.

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We commit to scale up public Research, Development and Deployment. We will increase our cooperation on enhanced country-driven capacity building and technology development and transfer on mutually agreed terms, including through key global initiatives and joint or bilateral projects on the most efficient solutions in all sectors of economy.

25. Impacts of climate change are being experienced worldwide, particularly by the poorest and most vulnerable. We stress the importance of the effective implementation of the global goal on adaptation and will submit adaptation communications. We also commit to scale up adaptation finance, with a view to achieving a balance with the provision of finance for mitigation to address the needs of developing countries including by facilitating mechanisms, conditions and procedures to access available funds, taking national strategies, priorities and needs into account. We recall and reaffirm the commitment made by developed countries, to the goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 and annually through 2025 to address the needs of developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and stress the importance of meeting that goal fully as soon as possible. In this regard, we welcome the new commitments made by some of the members of the G20 to each increase and improve their overall international public climate finance contributions through to 2025 and look forward to new commitments from others. We note the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, which shows, based on OECD estimates, that the goal is expected to be met no later than 2023.

We also recall the Paris Agreement aim to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, and that one of its goals is to make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate-resilient development. We encourage International Financial Institutions, including MDBs, to step up their efforts to pursue alignment with the Paris Agreement within ambitious

timeframes, to support sustainable recovery and transition strategies, NDCs and long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies in emerging markets and developing economies, and to set out plans to mobilize private finance, in line with their mandates and internal approval procedures, while continuing to support the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda.

26. We commit to significantly reduce our collective greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account national circumstances and respecting our NDCs. We acknowledge that methane emissions represent a significant contribution to climate change and recognize, according to national circumstances, that its reduction can be one of the quickest, most feasible and most cost-effective ways to limit climate change and its impacts. We welcome the contribution of various institutions, in this regard, and take note of specific initiatives on methane, including the establishment of the International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO). We will further promote cooperation, to improve data collection, verification, and measurement in support of GHG inventories and to provide high quality scientific data.

27. We will increase our efforts to implement the commitment made in 2009 in Pittsburgh to phase out and rationalize, over the medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and commit to achieve this objective, while providing targeted support for the poorest and the most vulnerable.

28. We acknowledge the close link between climate and energy and commit to reduce emission intensity, as part of mitigation efforts, in the energy sector to meet timeframes aligned with the Paris temperature goal. We will cooperate on deployment and dissemination of zero or low carbon emission and renewable technologies, including sustainable bioenergy, to enable a transition towards lowemission power systems. This will also enable those countries that commit

to phasing out investment in new unabated coal power generation capacity to do so as soon as possible.

We commit to mobilize international public and private finance to support green, inclusive and sustainable energy development and we will put an end to the provision of international public finance for new unabated coal power generation abroad by the end of 2021.

29. As we are recovering from the crisis, we are committed to maintain energy security, while addressing climate change, and guaranteeing just and orderly transitions of our energy systems that ensures affordability, including for the most vulnerable households and businesses. In this endeavour, we will remain vigilant of the evolution of energy markets, taking into account trends over the years, and promote an intensive dialogue.

Accordingly, the G20 in collaboration with the International Energy Forum (IEF) will facilitate a dialogue between producers and consumers to bolster the efficiency, transparency and stability of the energy markets. We emphasize the importance of maintaining undisrupted flows of energy from various sources, suppliers and routes, exploring paths to enhanced energy security and markets stability, while promoting open, competitive and free international energy markets. We recognize the role of digitalization in enhancing energy security and market stability through improved energy planning, while ensuring the security of energy systems against risks of attacks, including through malicious use of ICT. In addition to continuing to address traditional energy security challenges, we are mindful that clean energy transitions require an enhanced understanding of energy security, integrating aspects such as the evolving share of intermittent energy sources; the growing demand for energy storage, system flexibility changing climate patterns; the increase in extreme weather events; responsible development of energy types and sources; reliable, responsible and sustainable supply chains of critical minerals and materials, as well as semiconductors and related technologies. → 27

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→ 30. Policies for the transition and sustainable finance. We welcome the agreement by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to coordinate their efforts to tackle global challenges such as climate change and environmental protection, and to promote transitions towards green, more prosperous and inclusive economies. We welcome the introduction of a Pillar dedicated to Protecting the Planet in the G20 Action Plan. We agree on the importance of a more systematic analysis of macroeconomic risks stemming from climate change and of the costs and benefits of different transitions, as well as of the macroeconomic and distributional impact of risk prevention strategies and mitigation and adaptation policies, including by drawing on wellestablished methodologies. We ask the different G20 work streams to act in synergy, within their respective mandates and while avoiding duplication, to inform our discussions on the most appropriate policy mix to move towards low-greenhouse gas emission economies, taking into account national circumstances. Such policy mix should include investment in sustainable infrastructure and innovative technologies that promote decarbonisation and circular economy, and a wide range of fiscal, market and regulatory mechanisms to support clean energy transitions, including, if appropriate, the use of carbon pricing mechanisms and incentives, while providing targeted support for the poorest and the most vulnerable. We welcome the constructive discussions held at the Venice International Conference on Climate and at the G20 High Level Tax Symposium on Tax Policy and Climate Change and we recognise that the policy dialogue on the macroeconomic and fiscal impact of climate change policies could benefit from further technical work.

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Finance Working Group (SFWG) and we endorse the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap and the Synthesis Report.

The Roadmap, initially focused on climate, is a multi-year action-oriented document, voluntary and flexible in nature, which will inform the broader G20 agenda on climate and sustainability. We recognise the importance of gradually expanding the Roadmap’s coverage to include additional issues, such as biodiversity and nature as well as social matters, based on mutual agreement by G20 members in the coming years. We welcome the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Roadmap for addressing financial risks from climate change, which will complement the work carried out by the SFWG. We welcome the FSB report on the availability of data on climaterelated financial stability risks and the FSB report on promoting globally consistent, comparable and reliable climate-related financial disclosures and its recommendations. We also welcome the work programme of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation to develop a baseline global reporting standard under robust governance and public oversight, building upon the FSB’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures framework and the work of sustainability standard-setters.

32. International taxation. The final political agreement as set out in the Statement on a Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy and in the Detailed Implementation Plan, released by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) on 8 October, is a historic achievement through which we will establish a more stable and fairer international tax system. We call on the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS to swiftly develop the model rules and multilateral instruments as agreed in the Detailed Implementation Plan, with a view to ensure that the new rules will come into effect at global level in 2023. We note the OECD report on Developing Countries and the OECD/ G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS identifying developing countries’ progress made through their

We reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and emphasize the pivotal role of women’s and girls’ empowerment and leadership at all levels for inclusive and sustainable development.

participation in the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS and possible areas where domestic resource mobilisation efforts could be further supported.

33. Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. We reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and emphasize the pivotal role of women’s and girls’ empowerment and leadership at all levels for inclusive and sustainable development. We commit to put women and girls, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, at the core of our efforts to build forward better. We will work on key factors such as equal access to education and opportunities, including in STEM sectors, the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship and leadership, the elimination of genderbased violence, the enhancement of social, health, care and educational services, the overcoming of gender stereotypes, and the uneven distribution of unpaid care and domestic work. We commit to implement the G20 Roadmap Towards and Beyond the Brisbane Goal and to rapidly enhance the quality and quantity of women’s employment, with a particular focus on closing the gender pay gap. We reiterate our commitment to share progress and actions taken towards the Brisbane Goal in the related annual report and ask the ILO and the OECD to continue reporting annually on our progress, taking into account the Roadmaps’ Auxiliary Indicators.

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34. We welcome the hosting of the first G20 conference on Women’s Empowerment and will continue to enhance our concrete measures towards a systemic and cross-cutting approach to gender equality in our national policies, with adequate implementation tools. We will work on women’s empowerment in cooperation with academia, civil society and the private sector. To this end, we support the convening of a G20 Conference on Women’s Empowerment under the upcoming Presidencies. We welcome the work of the EMPOWER Alliance and its engagement with the G20, to be reviewed in 2025. We acknowledge the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative as an important partnership to support women-led SMEs. 35. Employment and social protection.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in our labour markets, disproportionately affecting vulnerable workers. In cooperation with social partners, we will adopt human-centered policy approaches to promote social dialogue and to ensure greater social

justice; safe and healthy working conditions; and decent work for all, including within global supply chains.

To reduce inequalities, eradicate poverty, support worker transitions and reintegration in labour markets and promote inclusive and sustainable growth, we will strengthen our social protection systems, as outlined in the G20 Policy Principles to Ensure Access to Adequate Social Protection for All in a Changing World of Work. We welcome the G20 Policy Options to Enhance Regulatory Frameworks for Remote Working Arrangements and Work through Digital Platforms. We will work to ensure decent working conditions for remote and platform workers and strive to adapt our regulatory frameworks to new forms of work, ensuring that these are fair and inclusive, leaving no one behind, while paying special attention to addressing the digital gender divide and intergenerational inequalities.

We also ask the ILO and the OECD to continue monitoring progress towards the Antalya Youth Goal. We underscore our commitment to further international

cooperation to strengthen safe and healthy working conditions for all workers and welcome the G20 Approaches on Safety and Health at Work.

36. Education. Access to education is a human right and a pivotal tool for inclusive and sustainable economic recovery. We commit to ensure access to quality education for all, with particular attention to women and girls and vulnerable students. We will increase our efforts to make education systems inclusive, adaptable and resilient, and will enhance the coordination between education, employment and social policies to improve the transition from education to quality employment, also through lifelong learning.

37. We recognize the critical role of education for sustainable development, including environmental stewardship, in empowering younger generations with the necessary skills and mindset to address global challenges. We commit to enhance cooperation and to foster stronger, effective measures to this end. → 29

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→ 38. Migration and forced displacement. The impact of the pandemic has confronted us with new challenges with regard to migration in our globalized economies. We commit to take steps to support the full inclusion of migrants, including migrant workers, and refugees in our pandemic response and recovery efforts, in the spirit of international cooperation and in line with national policies, legislation and circumstances, ensuring full respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of their migration status. We also recognize the importance of preventing irregular migration flows and the smuggling of migrants, as part of a comprehensive approach for safe, orderly and regular migration, while responding to humanitarian needs and the root causes of displacement. We note the 2021 Annual International Migration and Forced Displacement Trends and Policies Report to the G20 prepared by the OECD in cooperation with ILO, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR). We will continue the dialogue on migration and forced displacement in future Presidencies.

39. Transportation and Travel.

We will endeavor to restart international travel in a safe and orderly manner, consistent with the work of relevant international organizations such as the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the OECD. To this end, taking into consideration national public health policies, we acknowledge the relevance of shared standards to ensure seamless travel, including testing requirements and results, vaccination certificates and interoperability and mutual recognition of digital applications, while continuing to protect public health and ensuring privacy and data protection. We reiterate the essential role of transport personnel and the need for a coordinated approach to the treatment of air, maritime and land crews, consistent with public health standards and with the principle of non-discrimination.

40. Financial regulation. We welcome the FSB final report on the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic from a financial stability perspective and the proposed next steps. While the global financial system has been largely resilient, gaps in the regulatory framework remain which we are committed to addressing, including by completing the remaining elements of the G20 regulatory reforms agreed after the 2008 financial crisis. We are also committed to strengthening the resilience of the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector with a systemic perspective, and reducing the need for extraordinary central bank interventions, by implementing the FSB NBFI work programme. We endorse the FSB final report on policy proposals to enhance money market fund (MMF) resilience and we will assess and address MMF vulnerabilities in our jurisdictions, using the framework and policy toolkit in the report, recognizing the need to tailor measures to jurisdictions’ specific circumstances, as well as taking account of crossborder considerations.

41. We welcome the progress reported against milestones set for 2021 by the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments, and we endorse the ambitious but achievable quantitative global targets for addressing the challenges of cost, speed, transparency and access by 2027 set out in the FSB report. We call on public authorities and the private sector to work together to make the practical improvements to achieve these goals. We reiterate that no so-called “global stablecoins” should commence operation until all relevant legal, regulatory and oversight requirements are adequately addressed through appropriate design and by adhering to applicable standards. We encourage jurisdictions to progress in the implementation of the FSB HighLevel Recommendations, and standard setting bodies to complete their assessment of whether to make any adjustments to standards or guidance in light of the FSB Recommendations.

We encourage the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub, IMF and World Bank to

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continue deepening the analysis on the potential role of central bank digital currencies in enhancing cross-border payments and their wider implications for the international monetary system.

We thank Mr. Randal K. Quarles for his service as FSB Chair and we welcome the appointment of Mr. Klaas Knot as his successor.

42. Trade and Investment.

We affirm the important role of open, fair, equitable, sustainable, non-discriminatory and inclusive rules-based multilateral trade system in restoring growth, job creation and industrial productivity and promoting sustainable development, as well as our commitment to strengthen it with the WTO at its core. Recalling the Riyadh Initiative on the future of the WTO, we remain committed to working actively and constructively with all WTO Members to undertake the necessary reform of the WTO, improving all its functions, and we highlight the need to implement this commitment in practice through an inclusive and transparent approach including tackling the development issues. We commit to a successful and productive WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) as an important opportunity to advance that reform and revitalize the organization.

We will work with all WTO members in the lead-up to the MC12 and beyond to enhance the capacity of the multilateral trading system to increase our pandemic and disaster preparedness and resilience through a multifaceted response, with a view to deliver an outcome on trade and health by MC12, including to work towards enhancing timely, equitable and global access to vaccines. We support reaching a meaningful WTO agreement on harmful fisheries subsidies by the MC12, in line with the SDG 14.6, and we welcome the ongoing work on agriculture.

43. We recognize the importance of sound, predictable and transparent domestic regulatory frameworks for trade in services and investment. We underscore the importance of fair competition and we will continue to work to ensure a level playing field to foster a favourable trade and investment environment. → 31

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→ Reducing trade tensions, tackling distortions in all sectors of trade and investment, addressing supply chain disruptions and fostering mutually beneficial trade and investment relations will be critical as economies respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We believ that trade and environmental policies should be mutually supportive and WTO consistent and contribute to the optimal use of the world’s resources in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development. We highlight the importance of strengthening MSMEs’ capacity to become more integrated into the global economy.

44. Infrastructure investment. We recognize the critical role of quality infrastructure investments in the recovery phase. We acknowledge that resilient, properly funded, well maintained and optimally managed systems are essential to preserve infrastructure assets over their lifecycles, minimising loss and disruption, and securing the provision of safe, reliable and high-quality infrastructure services. To this end, we endorse the G20 Policy Agenda on Infrastructure Maintenance. In line with the G20 Roadmap for Infrastructure as an Asset Class, and building on the G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue, we will continue, in a flexible manner, to develop further the collaboration between the public and private investors to mobilise private capital. We underline the importance of promoting knowledge sharing between local authorities and national governments to foster more inclusive infrastructure. We will continue to advance the work related to the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. We agree to extend the Global Infrastructure Hub mandate until the end of 2024.

45. Productivity. Digital transformation has the potential of boosting productivity, strengthening the recovery and contributing to broad-based and shared prosperity. We endorse the G20 Menu of Policy Options - Digital Transformation and Productivity Recovery, which provides policy options, shares good practices, promotes inclusion and sheds light on the key role of international → GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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cooperation to make use of the growth opportunities of digitalization.

Drawing on the Menu we will continue discussing policies to sustain productivity growth, and to help ensure that the benefits are evenly shared within and across countries and sectors.

We recognise the importance of good corporate governance frameworks and well-functioning capital markets

to support the recovery, and look forward to the review of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.

46. Digital economy, higher education and research. We recognize the role of technology and innovation as key enablers for the global recovery and sustainable development. We recognize the importance of policies to create an

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enabling, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory digital economy that fosters the application of new technologies, allows businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive, and protects and empowers consumers, while addressing the challenges related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights, and security. Mindful of the need to support a better inclusion of MSMEs in the digital economy, we commit to reinforce our actions and international cooperation towards the digital transformation of production, processes, services and business models, also through the use of consensus-based international standards and the improvement of consumer protection, digital skills and literacy. We welcome the results of the G20 Innovation League, as a platform through which multilateral endeavors can boost partnerships, collaboration, co-creation, and private investments in technologies and applications benefitting humankind, highlighting how trade and digital policies can help strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs in global markets and address the particular challenges they face.

We have also begun to address the application of distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain networks to protect consumers through increased traceability. We recognize the growing role that Information and Communication Technologies play in our societies. In this context, we emphasize the need to address the increased security challenges in the digital environment, including from ransomware and other forms of cyber crime. With this in mind, we will work to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to secure our ICT, address shared vulnerabilities and threats, and combat cyber crime.

47. Well aware of the benefits stemming from the responsible use and development of trustworthy humancentered Artificial Intelligence (AI), we will advance the implementation of the G20 AI Principles, while considering the specific needs of MSMEs and start-ups to encourage competition and innovation, as well as diversity and inclusion, and the importance of international cooperation to promote

We endorse the G20 Menu of Policy Options for digital financial literacy and financial consumer and MSME protection “Enhancing digital financial inclusion beyond the COVID-19 crisis”, with the aim to provide a guide for policymakers in their efforts to lay the ground for new financial inclusion strategies in the post-pandemic world. research, development and application of AI. We welcome the G20 Policy Examples on How to Enhance the Adoption of AI by MSMEs and Start-ups.

48. We acknowledge the importance of data free flow with trust and crossborder data flows. We reaffirm the role of data for development. We will continue to work on addressing challenges such as those related to privacy, data protection, security and intellectual property rights, in accordance with the relevant applicable legal frameworks. We will also continue to further common understanding and to work towards identifying commonalities, complementarities and elements of convergence between existing regulatory approaches and instruments enabling data to flow with trust, in order to foster future interoperability. Recognizing the responsibility of digital service providers, we will work in 2022 towards enhancing confidence in the digital environment by improving internet safety and countering online abuse, hate speech, online violence and terrorism while protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We remain committed to protecting the most vulnerable, and acknowledge the G20 High Level Principles for Children Protection and Empowerment in the Digital Environment, drawn from the OECD Recommendation on Children in the Digital Environment and other relevant tools, such as the ITU 2020 Guidelines on Child Online Protection.

49. Financial inclusion. We reaffirm our commitment to enhancing digital financial inclusion of vulnerable and

underserved segments of society, including micro, small and mediumsized enterprises (MSMEs), carrying forward the work of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and implementing the G20 2020 Financial Inclusion Action Plan.

We endorse the G20 Menu of Policy Options for digital financial literacy and financial consumer and MSME protection “Enhancing digital financial inclusion beyond the COVID-19 crisis”, with the aim to provide a guide for policymakers in their efforts to lay the ground for new financial inclusion strategies in the post-pandemic world.

We welcome the 2021 GPFI Progress Report to G20 Leaders and the 2021 Update to Leaders on Progress Towards the G20 Remittance Target. We support the GPFI in bringing forward the monitoring of National Remittances Plans, also gathering more granular data, and strongly encourage the continued facilitation of the flow of remittances and the reduction of average remittance transfer costs.

50. Data gaps. Improving data availability and provision, including on environmental issues, and harnessing the wealth of data produced by digitalization is critical to better inform our decisions. We take note of the work done so far by the IMF, in close cooperation with the FSB and the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG) towards a possible new G20 Data Gaps Initiative and we look forward to its further development.

51. Recognizing the importance of an efficient use of digital tools within public administrations, we will continue to promote agile regulatory frameworks → 33

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→ and will provide digital public services that are human-centric, proactive, easy to use and accessible to all. We welcome the novel emphasis on secure, interoperable and trusted digital identity solutions that can provide better access to public and private sector services while promoting privacy and personal data protection. We will pursue further work on designing digital identity tools, deployable also in emergency scenarios.

52. Recognizing that sustainable investment in quality digital infrastructure can greatly contribute to reducing the digital divide, we will promote universal, and affordable access to connectivity for all by 2025. Recognizing universal, secure, affordable, advanced and wellfunctioning digital infrastructure as an important driver for the economic recovery, we endorse the G20 Guidelines for Financing and Fostering HighQuality Broadband Connectivity for a Digital World, developed with the support of the OECD. 53. We will enhance our efforts to ensure that our research and work forces are able to adapt their skills to the rapidly evolving digital environment and harness the potential of innovation and digital tools whilst upholding shared ethical principles and values.

We will also leverage common digital infrastructures to promote research collaboration, open science and higher education. Firmly convinced about the crucial relevance of scientific progress in improving the lives of billions around the world and effectively addressing global challenges, we will also continue to ensure that scientific research, including on digital technology, is carried out in a responsible, safe, transparent, equitable, inclusive and secure manner, taking into account the risks stemming from cuttingedge technologies.

54. We welcome the transformation of the Digital Economy Task Force into a Working Group and invite our Digital Ministers to further their discussions on the digital economy as appropriate.

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made in 2020, we will continue to support a rapid, resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector, which is among those hardest hit by the pandemic, with a particular focus on developing countries and MSMEs. We endorse the G20 Rome Guidelines for the Future of Tourism, and commit to take action to fulfill its objectives, in particular with regard to safe mobility and seamless travel and sustainability and digitalization. We will explore collaboration in the fields of creative economy and innovation in support of tourism. To this end, we ask our Ministers of Tourism to pursue their collaboration with the OECD, the UNWTO and other relevant international organizations.

56. Culture. Recalling that culture has intrinsic value, we underline the role of culture and of cultural and creative professionals and businesses as drivers for sustainable development and in fostering the resilience and the regeneration of our economies and societies, stressing the importance of international efforts to safeguard and promote culture, with a key role to be played by UNESCO, and the need to support workers, including in the cultural field, also by facilitating access to employment, social protection, digitalization and business support measures. We emphasize the importance of addressing threats to irreplaceable cultural resources and protecting and preserving cultural heritage damaged, trafficked or endangered by conflicts and disasters, recalling the objectives of UNSC Resolution 2347. We ask our relevant institutions to further pursue the G20 cooperation on culture.

57. Anti-corruption. Renewing our commitment to zero tolerance for corruption in the public and private sectors and to achieving common goals in the global fight against corruption, we adopt our 2022-2024 Anti-Corruption Action Plan. We will further strengthen our engagement with other stakeholders such as academia, civil society, media and the private sector, and will continue to promote their important role and active participation in this field. We are committed to fight any new and sophisticated forms of corruption. We

Renewing our commitment to zero tolerance for corruption in the public and private sectors and to achieving common goals in the global fight against corruption, we adopt our 2022-2024 Anti-Corruption Action Plan.

endorse the G20 High-Level Principles on Corruption related to Organized Crime, on Tackling Corruption in Sport, and on Preventing and Combating Corruption in Emergencies, and adopt the G20 Anti-corruption Accountability Report. We reaffirm our commitment to deny safe haven to corruption offenders and their assets, in accordance to domestic laws and to combat transnational corruption. We will also provide competent authorities with adequate, accurate and up-todate information by adopting legally appropriate measures to improve international and domestic beneficial ownership transparency of legal persons and arrangements and real estate, especially trans-national flows, in line with the Financial Action Task Force recommendations.

58. We remain committed to promoting a culture of integrity in the private sector, particularly in their relations with the public sector. In our collective efforts to better measure corruption, we welcome the Compendium of Good Practices on Measurement of Corruption. We will ensure that G20 Countries adapt their regulation and legislation to comply with the relevant obligation to criminalize bribery, including bribery of foreign public officials, and bolster efforts to effectively prevent, detect, investigate, prosecute and sanction domestic and foreign bribery. We will demonstrate

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concrete efforts for the duration of the Action Plan and share information on our actions towards criminalizing foreign bribery and enforcing foreign bribery legislation in line with article 16 of UNCAC, with a view to the possible adherence of all G20 countries to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

As a means to further improve international cooperation on anticorruption, we welcome the progress made by the GlobE Network.

59. We reaffirm our full support for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Network and recognize that effective implementation of AntiMoney Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF) measures is essential for building confidence in financial markets, ensuring a sustainable recovery and protecting the integrity of the international financial system.

We stress the relevance of the risk-based approach of the FATF recommendations with the aim to ensure legitimate cross-border payments and to promote financial inclusion. We confirm our support for strengthening the FATF recommendations to improve beneficial ownership transparency and call on countries to fight money laundering from environmental crime, particularly by acting on the findings of the FATF report. We reaffirm the commitments made by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors aimed at sustaining and strengthening the work of the FATF-Style Regional Bodies.

60. We look ahead to Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics 2022, as opportunities for competition for athletes from around the world, which serves as a symbol of humanity’s resilience.

61. We thank the international organizations and the G20 Engagement Groups for their valuable inputs and policy recommendations. We thank Italy for its Presidency, for successfully hosting the Global Health Summit, co-Chaired with the European Commission, and the Rome Leaders’ Summit, and for its contribution to the G20 process, and we look forward to meeting again in Indonesia in 2022, in India in 2023 and in Brazil in 2024. ◆ 35

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W GLOBAL CHALLENGES

G20 Business Advisory Board for The Italian Presidency

It is often said that the world is facing “unprecedented challenges”. This expression is sometimes abused, but today it seems more apt than ever. The world is truly facing unprecedented challenges, both linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and to the radical economic and social transformation imposed by climate change and the digitization of our societies.

These are challenges that cannot be faced individually. Tackling such complex, pervasive and impactful issues necessarily requires a shared and coordinated effort by all nations.

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responsible for managing coordination among countries, precisely in this perspective of sharing and common planning. Its role is therefore more important than ever, to address – and hopefully solve – the problems that afflict the world. The Italian presidency in 2021 places a burden and an honor on our country: burden, because the definition of the agenda and the leadership in this delicate moment involves a drastic burden of responsibility; honor, because it allows Italy to have a direct role in the world and contribute to the improvement of the lives of all people in the world.

There are three major areas of attention around which the work and activities of the G20 in 2021 will necessarily have to develop: People, Prosperity and Planet.

People: in a society in which economic and social inequality is constantly increasing, one cannot but act to bring the planet back on a more inclusive and shared growth path. This issue is even more impelling in light of the pandemic.

Economic inequality has serious repercussions on health care (e.g., in terms of access to care), that exacerbates existing inequality.

Prosperity: the digital transition raises additional issues related to the new definition of value, ownership, rights, ethical dilemmas and redesigning the labor market. And, in addition, it goes beyond the territorial dimension. By its very nature, digital is ubiquitous and requires coordination to seize all the opportunities emerging from this revolution by managing and contrasting the critical issues that it raises.

Planet: climate change is, without any doubt, the most pressing issue of the 21st century. We are now at the breaking point. Either we face the

climate emergency with a shared, worldwide, decisive approach, or thereis no way back.

People, Prosperity and Planet are the three key words that will dictate the political agenda of the G20 in 2021. In order to assist the Italian government in defining the agenda and ensuing proposals, The European House Ambrosetti has activated a high-profile Advisory Board, involving 20 CEOs of the most important Italian and international companies, to initiate a path of analysis, dialog and sharing of ideas that has led to the drafting of this report.

It was a real process of co-creation.

The European House - Ambrosetti working team and the sherpas of the various groups involved met on a regular basis, working on the same documents and exchanging ideas in aconstant flow of dialog. The first important evidence that emerges from this work lies upstream of the content itself and involves the way this content emerged: the sharing of ideas and collaboration are the prerequisites to effectively face any challenge, and this is a wish that I hope will also apply to the work of the G20.

In conclusion of this Foreword, I am pleased to thank all the participants of the Advisory Board whose reflections you will find in the following pages.

Similar thanks go to the support teams of the CEOs involved, who have assisted us with enthusiasm. A particularly heartfelt thanks goes to Ambassador Benassi, sherpa of the Italian government for the organization of the G20, and to all his team of collaborators at Palazzo Chigi, who followed the development of this work from the beginning.

Finally, a thank you to The European House - Ambrosetti working team, which edited this report, led by Corrado Panzeri and Sara Lelli, and composed of Diego Begnozzi, Filippo Malinverno, Giancarlo Bruno, Francesco Di Lodovico, Carmen Lojacono and Chiara Piloni.

Valerio De Molli Managing Partner and CEO The European House - Ambrosetti

The G20 is an international forum attended by Government officials and Central Bank Governors from 19 countries and the EU. It was founded in 1999, with the aim of discussing pressing international issues, starting from international financial stability.

Over time its scope of action has been extended, and since 2008 the activities of the forum have been broadened to include discussion of many key issues related to the global economy.

The reason for this extension of competences is as urgent as it is crucial: the challenges that the world has to face cannot be tackled individually. This approach would be not only ineffective, but – in many areas – even harmful.

Lack of coordination, indeed, often leads to three main problems: • The absence of economies of scale and duplication of costs.

• Improper management of negative externalities.

• Free riding.

The first area, known to the business world, comes from a simple observation: in most cases it is more economical to operate on a large scale, to reduce the incidence of costs of research, development and implementation. This is not only true in the private sector, but also with regard to issues of national interest.

An exemplary case is that of aerospace: even for developed economies, it is more convenient to work together to create a single agency (an example could be represented by the European Space Agency) rather than individually pursuing a separate research strategy.

In this particular case, moreover, some of the countries involved would probably not even be able to sustain these investments autonomously: lack of coordination does not just lead to higher costs, but may actually make it impossible to operate.

The second area arises from the worldwide expansion of certain negative externalities. Externalities are, in economics, impacts generated by an action on another subject, impacts that do not pass through the market and are therefore not mediated by a price system. → 37

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→ The classic case of externalities is pollution: an action (e.g. industrial production) can cause damage (air pollution) to citizens in the surrounding area, for which they receive no monetary compensation – or for which the person or company generating the externality does not pay. At the national level, externalities are addressed by regulation: in the case of pollution, for example, many countries adopt emissions markets or specific taxation schemes, through which polluters pay the community. Externalities, however, are taking on a global scale: many actions do not only have an impact within individual states, but affect the whole world. In this case, collective, multilateral action is indispensable to address them.

The third and final point arises from free riding, the “downward competition” implemented between countries. This is a particularly critical area, in which it is essential to find the correct balance between the free initiative of individual countries and the need to find an optimum for the community, understood on a global scale. An illustrative, deliberately hyperbolic, example could be tax competition: to attract companies and investments a free riding strategy might consist in reducing taxation on business income.

This strategy, however, if pursued by all, can only lead to a progressive lowering of taxation, up to the limit case in which no country pays taxes, which certainly is not the optimum for the community.

In short: coordination among countries is an indispensable prerequisite for fair, sustainable and resilient growth. However, in recent years we have witnessed the opposite dynamic, with the progressive depletion of the role of multinational institutions theoretically responsible for ensuring this coordination.

The emergence of so-called “populist” political movements in many developed and developing countries has turned political agendas towards more nationalist positions, sometimes even in open polemic with supranational institutions.

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The hope today is that there will be a return – or rather, a renewed adherence – to a multinational system, adapted to the reality of the 21st century andto the new relationships of power that have risen on the world’s stage.

President Trump and the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, NATO, as well as the withdrawal from the Paris agreements against climate change are all elements that undermine the principle of collaboration among countries.

It is likely that the change of leadership in the United States will lead to a rapprochement between the U.S. and the aforementioned multinational institutions, as well as a greater effort towards international coordination.

In addition, a renewed openness on the U.S side could restore the multilateral dialogue.

Multilateral agreements are not an innovation on the international political scene but a return to the past. The world, in the period 1945-1971, lived in a system based on formally multilateral principles which included the BrettonWoods agreements, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the GATT (General Agreement on

Tariffs and Trade). Certainly, it was a world radically different from today’s, sharply divided into two opposing blocs, and in which the influence of the Asian countries (India and China first) was negligible.

The idea of supranational institutions responsible for the management of relations between countries is not new, however, but one that originated more than 70 years ago.

The hope today is that there will be a return – or rather, a renewed adherence – to a multinational system, adapted to the reality of the 21st century and to the new relationships of power that have risen on the world’s stage. It will have to be a multinational system based on dialogue and on the awareness that some challenges – especially those related to climate change – cannot be faced and won by individual countries.

It will have to pursue an agenda based on three pillars: People, Prosperity and Planet, the three words that inspire the proposals for the Italian presidency of the G20, a body that is the bedrock of multilateralism.

This report was prepared in view of the Italian Presidency of the G20 in 2021. It presents 8 macroproposals developed on three sectors of endeavour identified by the Italian Presidency of the Council: • Inclusion: Policies and actions for a sustainable, just and resilient recovery; new social contract for inclusion.

• Environment and energy transition: green transition, renewables, a circular economy, the role of cities.

• Innovation and knowledge: the challenges related to digital transformation and artificial intelligence, and their impact on organizations and work.

To develop these proposals The European House - Ambrosetti has set up an Advisory Board composed of the CEOs of the most important Italian and multinational companies. The Advisory Board met, during 2020, for plenary meetings, as well as for discussions on more specific working tables. The 8 macro-proposals illustrated in the following pages have emerged from the collaboration of all those involved. ◆

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT B 2 0 _ I TA LY 2 0 2 1

B20 Italy Hard times teach us valuable lessons.

We are all tasked with mastering the new reality, whatever it will be, learning from the mistakes of the past to emerge stronger in the future. The world has changed drastically over the past months, a period that has shaken the foundations of our societies, disrupting how we live and work, and placing unprecedented strain on our families and communities. Global poverty has risen for the first time in the last two decades, disparities across individuals and countries have been amplified, and thousands of enterprises are facing existential threats.

Over recent months, we have witnessed rapid clinical trials and medical approvals of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines. Such an extraordinary achievement has been made possible by close and proactive collaboration among governments, international agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutes around the world.

As a result, some countries that are now running effective vaccination campaigns are at the forefront of a step-change in public health and in the relaunch of their economies. However, despite the efforts of the international community, the uneven distribution of vaccines coupled with the emergence of new variants of the virus still affects the return to global economic growth and prosperity. On the path to recovery, the world faces a mix of longstanding and newer vulnerabilities.

Economic nationalism, trade protectionism, and unilateralism persist while international investments are decelerating.

In parallel, cybersecurity risks are growing worldwide, both in prevalence and potential to disrupt. Environmental threats and natural disasters have increased in prominence, biodiversity is being lost at alarming rates, and the impacts of global warming increasingly highlight the fragility of our planet.

Nonetheless, there are encouraging signals: international cooperation and cross-country coordination are now more clearly perceived as the only way forward to address common threats collectively and successfully.

Most prominent multilateral forums are stepping up to respond promptly to post-pandemic challenges, and brighter economic prospects are expected in the near future, albeit scattered among regions and sectors.

The pandemic will eventually be behind us, but for people and companies to flourish in the new reality, they will need strong support to pivot and refocus quickly, especially in light of other present and emerging challenges.

I am deeply grateful to the President of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi, for having entrusted me with the position of B20 Chair, as well as to the B20 Task Force Chairs and Co-Chairs for having driven the process with effective and forwardlooking capabilities, to the over 1,000 delegates and 2,000 participants for their hard work during these past months, to Confindustria for the outstanding intellectual and organizational effort, to the B20 Sherpa and the Secretariat for their precious support, and to our official Partners for their valuable contributions.

I warmly thank the B20 Advisory Board and the B20 International Advocacy Caucus for having provided their prominent high-level vision to our work.

Finally, the B20 Troika: to the Saudi Arabia B20 Chair goes my highest appreciation for the impressive contributions made last year when the pandemic started disrupting our lives; and to the incoming Indonesia B20 Chair, my best wishes, encouragement, and support for her forthcoming mandate.

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KEY MESSAGES Include • Empower Women and Youth, and Ensure Equal Opportunities for All • Unlock the Digital Transformation and Build Skills for Tomorrow • Scale up Sustainable Finance and Support Impact Investing and Financing • Include LDCs and MSMEs in the Global Economy and Foster Access to Trade Finance Share • Promote Open Trade and Halt Protectionism, Especially on Vaccines • Speed up Adoption of Innovation and Achieve Broader Access to Care • Enhance Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure and Urban Regeneration • Promote Sustainable Governance, Increase Transparency and Fair Competition Act • Accelerate the Net Zero Race, Drive the Just Transition, and Fight Climate Change • Establish a Global Emergency Governance for Future Crises • Reform the WTO and Strengthen International Cooperation • Level the Digital Playing Field and Foster a Trustworthy Ecosystem

We, the representatives of Business Federations and companies of the Group of 20 countries (“the B20”) issue the current declaration at the occasion of the B20 Summit of 7-8 October 2021, in view of the G20 Summit on 30-31 October 2021. This declaration is structured in two parts: Section 1: Key messages summarizing the main challenges identified by the B20 under its motto: “Reshape the Future: Include, Share, Act,” and consolidated into 12 cross-cutting macro-priorities, each detailed with four calls to action and one leading monitoring KPI (Key Performance Indicator).

Section 2: Policy Recommendations and Actions presenting the executive summaries of the nine Policy Papers developed within the 2021 B20 Italy cycle, and providing a total of 32 Policy Recommendations, 93 Policy Actions, and 34 Monitoring KPIs. The statement from the B20 International Advocacy Caucus is also included. An Appendix gives a brief overview of the B20 Italy process, its governance, and some key statistics.

Reshape the Future We want 2021 to mark the beginning of a new era. Business sees solutions rather than problems, finds consensus instead of arguing, strikes win-win balances more than conflicts. We can show the way ahead and help make a difference, and we are committed to deploying our best efforts and resources to achieve the targets we have set.

Leading the new reality requires close cooperation as business and governments must navigate together the complexities of the current conjuncture while preparing for future challenges in a collective effort to minimize structural fallout, and advance global wealth and wellbeing.

Revitalizing multilateralism, fostering the “just transition,” and mindfully investing the available resources across a range of development dimensions with sustainability at their core, will be key to powering a fair and inclusive socioeconomic recovery, ensuring long-term growth, and better cushioning against future shocks.

We urge the G20 to decisively reclaim its role as a forum where leaders agree on the most urgent actions and drive their enforcement at the national level by entrusting international bodies with the responsibility to adopt binding rules where necessary. We stand ready to share responsibilities and we offer the G20 Presidency a truly cohesive partnership.

Twelve Cross-Cutting Priority Clusters to Drive the way Forward The B20 offers concrete recommendations and actions. A set of 12 cross-cutting macro-priorities defined across the three pillars of the B20 motto provides a structured overview of those reported in the second section of this declaration and further detailed in the nine Policy Papers annexed.

Each priority cluster contributes to achieving the United Nations 2030 Agenda by addressing multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the G20 Priorities People, Planet and Prosperity (3Ps).

We suggest measuring their implementation in the coming years through leading monitoring KPIs. Include While globalization and liberalization have reduced global inequalities over the last few years, and progress has been made towards ending extreme poverty and hunger, the pandemic has exposed persisting disparities in our socioeconomic systems. A major challenge for business leaders and policy makers is to create a truly equitable and inclusive environment, fostering cultural change and transparent interactions among and across private and public organizations.

By “include” we mean that nobody must be left behind: people, businesses, and countries can achieve truly sustainable growth only by combining diversity and inclusion and by enhancing education, upskilling, and reskilling. Advanced digital technologies and applications are powerful and effective vectors to embrace new forms of learning and skills-upgrading.

Social, digital, financial, and economic inclusion can foster growth, enabling new paradigms where diversity and integration are embraced rather than feared. Exploring new frontiers of

protection while ensuring equity for individuals and organizations is crucial to building a prosperous future.

A strong G20 leadership will prove essential to the success of this effort.

Elevating women to the center of economies would drive better development outcomes for all. Building gender-inclusive workplaces would unlock growth, resilience, and improved socioeconomic progress.

Supporting youth will be essential to shaping a robust next generation of workers aligned with the requirements of a rapidly changing labor market.

The pandemic has unleashed the power of digital, projecting our world several years into the future and accentuating the need for expanded skills and capabilities; harmonized regulatory standards; and investments in connectivity, networks, and technologies. Developments in the digital world will enable higher business adaptability and agility, greater corporate sustainability, growth, and welfare across communities.

Through projects that generate both financial returns and social or environmental benefits, impact investing can greatly contribute as a lever to eradicate poverty, attain food security, and expand access to critical resources.

Renewed commitment to aligning finance taxonomies and regulations, as well as harmonized global disclosure frameworks are key in this regard.

Collaboration across governments and the private sector is crucial to promote the participation of LDCs and MSMEs in the global economy. Enabling them to fully join global value chains, including through a broader and easier access to trade finance, will reinforce the economic potential of both advanced and developing communities by enhancing market competition and increasing productivity. ◆ 1 Empower Women and Youth, and Ensure Equal Opportunities for All 2 Unlock the Digital Transformation and Build Skills for Tomorrow 3 Scale up Sustainable Finance and support Impact Investing and Financing 4 In clude LDCs and MSMEs in the global economy and foster access to Trade Finance 41

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The Contribution of Long-Term Investors, Private Sector Think Tanks in Infrastructure Investment to Support Recovery

The Covid-19 pandemic has radically impacted the world at large. We are now called to seize on the lessons learnt and plan the global recovery phase also looking at solving the existential crises constituted by climate change, inequality and lack of inclusiveness. Investment in both new infrastructure and maintenance of ageing one – in particular in advanced economies – plays a crucial role in overcoming the challenges ahead of us.

As the World Bank reports, investing in the resilience of infrastructure systems in emerging and developing countries alone could potentially bring to gains for the global economy of over USD 4 trillion in the next 20 years, generating for every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure, $4 in benefits1.

Moreover, the global infrastructure investment gap is widening at global level, partly due to climate neutrality targets, the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and respect the Paris Agreement. Rising public debts and fiscal constraints will require new private funds to be invested in infrastructure. Private investments are also progressively declining, reaching a minimum low in 2019 and in 2020, also due to the pandemic.

Against this backdrop, sustainability and digitalization will be at the core of the effort to finance the design, build, operation and maintenance of infrastructure in a way that helps tackle the climate crisis.

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The D20-LTIC, B20 and T20 want to help overcome the global challenges now facing us and be positive actors of change jointly calling the G20 Leaders to consider the following policy actions.

G20 members should establish a permanent dialogue mechanism such as the 2021 G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue - among the main stakeholders comprising institutional investors, national and multilateral development banks, general contractors and asset managers.

At global level, infrastructure is becoming one of the main drivers for geopolitical and economic competition.

There is instead the need to ensure cooperation among different stakeholders at national, sub-national and city level to mobilise private investments to achieve low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, that leaves no-one behind. Such a regular dialogue would be crucial to identify the main shortcomings that hinder a greater involvement of private investors in sustainable infrastructure, ensuring a better coordination and efficiency among national and regional infrastructure initiatives, especially when developed in non-G20 countries and developing ones.

G20 members should play a crucial role in establishing a level playing field for infrastructure investment worldwide to ensure accountability and accelerate the

achievement of environ-mental and social goals.

Resilient infrastructure principles would need to be followed, as they consider countries’ specific climate change, degradation and disaster risk exposure. A road to a common international under-standing of quality infrastructure would also need to be agreed amongst the private sector, na-tional and multilateral development banks and governments to boost private investments, while at the same time reducing bureaucracy and red tape.

G20 members should promote a global platform to facilitate exchange, cross-fertilization of new technologies in the infrastructure field to reduce their environmental and social impact and improving productivity in the sector.

To ensure quality and sustainable infrastructure financing, data and technology could be at the forefront of a new way to design, construct, operate and maintain infrastructure.

The application of new technologies to infrastructure could result in the reduction of construction and maintenance costs, improving value-chain integration, climate resilience, reducing time of delivery, as well as accelerating the development of green infrastructure, ultimately lowering the risks of creating stranded assets.

the remaining life of the projects versus the time of origination, in case of a deterioration in credit quality.

G20 members should design investment-ready mature project pipelines to facilitate the par-ticipation of private and institutional investors.

It is fundamental to create credible and predictable project pipelines, also with the help of willing national and multilateral development banks to improve bankability, while aligning national plan-ning priorities and private investors’ needs, especially in the PPP contracts, bringing in the long run to the emergence of sustainable infrastructure as an asset class.

G20 members should develop - where needed - and publish long-term infrastructure plans.

Informed by a precise assessment of current and future infrastructure needs, consistent with a sound financial framework and national economic strategies, such plans would be crucial to ensure a balanced, sustainable and steady recovery at global level and crowd in private and Long-Term Investors. A long-term vision on infrastructure could be a formidable catalyser to boost private in-vestments as it closes the investor’s gap in risk perception on the legal and regulatory frameworks it will have to adhere to.

G20 members should contribute to improving infrastructure financing availability by incen-tivizing lending to such projects.

Policymakers could implement, supported by risk evidence, incentives for sustainable infrastruc-ture investing and financing by banks, also reviewing regulatory accounting requirements as Inter-national Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS9) that can discourage long term credit. The infrastructure long-term investment and credit requirements of at least 10 years or more are in fact disincentivized by the IFRS9 framework, which hinders the ability of banks to fund infrastructure projects by increasing capital requirements and by requiring higher provisioning, proportional to the expected loss over

G20 members should encourage the institution of frameworks and platforms that facilitate international planning of cross-border investments in largescale infrastructure.

Accordingly, G20 members could work with multilateral, regional and national development banks to create global sustainable infrastructure project preparation and guarantee facilities.

These in-stitutions are in fact able to provide technical assistance that enable countries to elaborate cross-sectoral, cross-border and large-scale infrastructure planning, taking into account environmental and social considerations, as well as other regulatory matters.

G20 members should improve the conditions that foster blending of public and private re-sources, a practice which increases available resources and reduces the perceived risk for private investments.

Ad- hoc, market-ready financial tools to facilitate Public Private Partnerships should be created. Concurrently, reviews of existing PPP frameworks in the appropriate setting bodies should also be promoted, addressing their main shortcomings and facilitating coinvestments by investors in quality infrastructure.

G20 members should promote public and private financing of urban and suburban regener-ation projects while including sub-national governments, and especially cities, in global efforts to achieve low-carbon and climate-

A long-term vision on infrastructure could be a formidable catalyser to boost private in-vestments as it closes the investor’s gap in risk perception on the legal and regulatory frameworks it will have to adhere to. resilient infrastructure.

To emerge stronger from the crisis, social infrastructure should be at the core of global investment ef-forts. hese are the basis to ensure long-term economic growth and they are crucial for the well-being of citizens. The pandemic has changed the consumer habits and demographic trends, also changing the way cities are lived.

Urban regeneration, which includes affordable housing and effective access to sustainable basic services, will thus be key to drive a recovery “from the bottom-up” and rebalance urban and rural development in support of lowcarbon solutions and better land management.

We, the D20-LTIC, B20 and T20 commit to supporting the G20 efforts on the aforementioned policy actions hoping to help reduce the current investment gap on quality and sustainable infrastructure, thereby contributing to a sustainable economic model for the future. ◆

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The New Global Role of Business

Dear Director, the recent news coming from the G7 summit in Cornwall on the birth of a new multilateralism, with a fruitful resumption of the relations between Europe and USA, make us hope. Covid has transformed the geopolitical context, initially slowing down global trade and international relations, but later promoting the emergence of a new balance and a renewed need for collaboration between countries, to cope with the pandemic. This is why we can argue that 2021 is the year of transformation, of a return to multilateralism, inclusion and sustainability. And, we hope, the defeat of the virus.

In these circumstances, we can only agree with the position taken by President Draghi and President Biden with regard to the Chinese government, because it is an absolute priority to create a world order in which the economy and investments are in service of inclusive and sustainable global growth and not aimed at economic supremacy. In all its dramatic nature, tha pandemic is an opportunity that we cannot waste.

A challenging moment for the world, this is also a key moment for Italy. As a result of chairing the G20 and co-chairing COP 26 next November in Glasgow, Italy is proving its capacity for leadership, authority and response to critical issues. Mario Draghi’s presidency is the key factor, especially in the post-Merkel era. A game that GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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Italy has already begun, in these very days, to play well.

The success of our country cannot disregard the fundamental contribution offered by Italian companies, which have shown an unexpected ability to respond to the crisis, resilience and growth, despite the adverse context. It is thanks to all this that Italy can take on the role of mediator in strategic dossiers and lay the foundations for more effective global governance.

The G7 summit has deployed how the new American administration is working for renewed transatlantic relations. In addition to the shared position towards China, another concrete signal is the reciprocal suspension of duties towards the European Union, starting with Boeing and Airbus. Even beyond the G20 presidency, Italy is among the EU countries that are most interested in a new agenda with the USA: they are by far the first non-EU market for Italian products and, despite the crisis, the 2020 interchange has exceeded 55 billion euros. The return of the U.S. to the tables of the Paris Agreement and the rethinking of the possible exit from the World Health Organization are further signs that must be seized and supported. Then there is the major issue of Africa, which must be the object of extraordinary attention on the part of Europe in order to help it avoid crises even worse than those it is already experiencing, of which the migratory phenomenon and the risk of terrorism

would be just two effects, the tip of the iceberg. And to prevent it from becoming a land of exclusive economic conquest by China.

The development policies on which governments will have to find points of work and common objectives must combine environmental policies, which cannot be postponed, and a healthy public-private collaboration. Combining competitiveness and climate policy will mean creating jobs, research, social protection and growth opportunities.

For this reason, the B20 is a unique opportunity for the Italian system to provide authoritative leadership at a global level. It is the main and most authoritative engagement group of the G20, giving voice to the priorities of a business community composed of all major global industrial and corporate federations. It consists of 2,000 total participants, with an average of 140 members per individual task force (the work of the B20 is divided into individual task forces, depending on spheres of activity). Forty percent of B20 members have senior roles, CEO or chair. They speak on behalf of more than 6.5 million companies, the engine of global economic development. Within the B20, a caucus was created with the presidents of the G20 industry confederations and a top-level group of international CEOs who act as B20 advisors & “ambassadors” to their respective countries. The “classic” B20 mainly covered topics such as trade, energy, infrastructure finance, labor & education, digital transformation, anti-corruption.

This year, the topics of health and life sciences, sustainability and global emergencies were added, and the commitment to recognize the role of women in society was strengthened.

The motto is “Reshape the Future: Include, Share, Act” and testifies to the determination to address these major challenges. The final moment of this journey is set for October 7 and 8, when the final Declaration of the B20 2021 will be delivered personally to President Draghi.

Emma Marcegaglia, Chair B20 Italy An abstract of the letter by Emma Marcegaglia Il Corriere della Sera published on June 18th 2021.

Global Healthcare is a Global Responsibility

www.globusrelief.org www.inc-world.info

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B20 & T20 Statement on Digital Transformation in View of the G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting Trieste, 5 August 2021 Covid-19 has contributed to accelerating the digital transition and has multiplied its influence on our lives and societies.

However, the benefits brought about by these changes are jeopardised by their own rapidity and by their corresponding inequalities. As estimated by the World Economic Forum, 3.7 billion people do not have access to the Internet. Due to this growing digital divide, at least one-third of the world’s schoolchildren were unable to access remote learning last year.

Vulnerable groups, particularly women and low-skilled workers, are more likely to be excluded from the benefits of digital transformation.

To date, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women, and 40% of workers with a lower secondary degree are in jobs with a high risk of automation.

Moreover, cybercrimes, the lack of a common regulatory framework incidents regarding the misuse of personal data, and the lack of a level playing field in digital markets further nurture mistrust in digital innovation and raise ethical concerns.

In light of these challenges, the Business20 (B20), the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, and the Think20 (T20), the engagement group of the G20, which brings together think-tanks, universities and other research centres, have worked together to produce practical policy-proposals for G20 decision-makers. Our Task Forces on Digital Transformation believe that the G20 has a crucial role in making digitalisation an opportunity for all and unleashing its full potential to foster economic growth and build fairer societies.

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The B20 and the T20 jointly call G20 Ministers for technological innovation to take action with respect to the following proposals in respective policy areas: Bridging the digital divide in all its forms As a core enabler of digital transformation, connectivity worldwide should be further expanded by developing a G20 coordinated multilateral collaborative effort to stimulate innovation and ensure an investment-friendly environment.

At the same time, it is crucial to tackling the existing digital skills gap in the private and public sector by mapping current shortages and up/ re-skilling individuals, in order to create a digital-ready population. Given this context, education curricula should be updated to include digital learning solutions capable of reaching the most marginalized through options that are usable offline and on affordable devices.

G20 countries should also recognize and address the existing gender divide in the digital economy. Time-bound targets and grant schemes for women in STEM, awareness campaigns against gender stereotypes and measures fostering gender-neutral parental leave-taking are some of the policy instruments suggested to tackle this issue.

Building trust and coordination in the digital economy A fair and transparent regulatory environment must be guaranteed for markets and sectors to work and interact effectively. However, global coordination on regulatory principles is not keeping pace with the latest technological progress, creating

imbalances across legislations, industries, and markets, negatively impacting the overall trust in the digital ecosystem.

We recommend G20 countries to harmonize regulatory principles to facilitate fair competition and efficient markets. In particular, the G20 should consider adopting a coordinated framework to discourage undesirable practices that may damage the trust of consumers.

In parallel, to create a comprehensive international governance architecture for big data, artificial intelligence and the digital platforms, the G20 should promote the development of multistakeholder entities that may coordinate and shape global standards and policies across the digital economy.

The number of global cyberattacks increased by 12% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the uneven international regulation, including several grey areas within local jurisdictions, stillweakens the global defence against cyberattacks.

Regional certification schemes governing cross-border flows of personal data in APEC and EU countries should be opened up to outside countries and multilateralised, with the prospect of moving towards interoperability in the future. The G20 should as such avoid data protectionism, without however undermining states’ rights to regulatory autonomy on data protection and privacy.

Guaranteeing security and privacy in the digital sphere The number of global cyber-attacks increased by 12% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the uneven international regulation, including several grey areas within local jurisdictions, still weakens the global

defence against cyber-attacks. G20 could promote more meaningful information- sharing about cyber threats. This approach would enable States to develop a more complete picture of the threat environment and provide better information to defenders to proactively address emerging threats.

To increase individual protection against online threats, the creation of specific schools’ curricula may help young people identify these threats and provide them with the tools to evaluate misinformation and potential deceit, and to avoid cyberbullying.

In the area of data privacy, our proposal for the G20 is to incentivise transparency to consumers over their own data.

CONCLUSION After the pandemic, many challenges are facing our society. The B20 and T20, through their Task Forces on Digital Transformation, calls G20 Ministers for technological innovation for a renewed commitment to address these challenges by designing and swiftly implementing policy measures aimed at reducing the digital divide, supporting women’s inclusion in the digital economy, strengthening digital education and digital skills, introducing comprehensive international governance for the digital ecosystem, and giving people meaningful control of their own data. ◆ 47

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WOMEN2O COMMUNIQUÉ A NEW CHALLENGING VISION: FROM INCLUSION TO EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

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People all over the planet are at the epicentre of three epochal influences - the pandemic crisis, the climate crisis and the technological revolution. These will have considerable social, economic and environmental impact for years to come, particularly on women.

We, the representatives of the 2021 Women 20, call on G20 leaders to address gender inequalities, establish sustainable development policies, employ and fund strategies to support the empowerment of women, with priority on tackling the intersecting structural barriers that negatively impact women and girls in all their diversity, by implementing our main focus areas and cross-cutting recommendations: 1. Place gender equality at the heart of budgeting decisions by creating inclusive and innovative economic models that work for women and focus on achieving human well-being; 2. Ensure equal representation of women at all levels of decision making in public and private, national and global, political and economic bodies by 2030; adopt multi-year plans to achieve this goal and monitor progress annually; 3. Collect, analyse, and report on all areas identified in this Communiqué using gender-sensitive and disaggregated data; 4. Develop gender impact assessments, leaving no one behind, in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all legislative, political, strategic and programmatic initiatives including post-pandemic reconstruction plans, and climate response strategies;

5. Promote education by investing in infrastructure to ensure women and girls have access to and participate in pre-school to tertiary education, including early education and STEAM programs; bolster technical and vocational training, digital, financial and entrepreneurial skills, and lifelong learning. This is to enable women to secure quality employment with continuing education and progression during career breaks.

FOCUS AREA Cultural Changes and Gender Stereotypes Discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes and unconscious biases, including those potentially captured in new technologies, produce a distortion in all aspects of life which reinforces and sustains gender inequalities in education, the workplace, family, and broader society. G20 governments need to formulate national plans to tackle gender stereotypes within the next three years, support organisations addressing these issues, and allocate funds for policy implementation.

1. Develop lifelong learning programmes and campaigns to address gender stereotypes by a) introducing curricula that aim to eliminate unconscious biases and stereotypes, in all professional fields, and from pre-school to tertiary education; b) developing age-appropriate content with a focus on human rights, equality, respect, financial education, caring skills, and critical use of the internet, social media and artificial intelligence; c) updating and revising school texts including women’s history; d) implementing actions for empowerment and diverse role-modelling; →

G20 governments need to formulate national plans to tackle gender stereotypes within the next threeyears, support organisations addressing these issues, and allocate funds for policy implementation.

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3. Develop and fund multidisciplinary strategic plans on Gender Medicine by a) investing in research that considers biological and gender differences in essential risk factors, biomarkers, mechanisms and outcomes of diseases, drug metabolism and response, and in relation to specific lifecycle requirements.

→ 3. Provide systematic awarenessbuilding measures to combat sexism and gender biases by a) mobilising all key multipliers (educators, researchers, politicians, doctors, among others) to enhance full participation of women in all aspects of society; b) encouraging media players and publishers to apply a gender lens, establish frameworks, guidelines and guaranteeing equal representation in media content creation; c) encouraging men and boys to take action on gender equality.

FOCUS AREA Health Equity and Gender Medicine Universal access to quality health care is an essential prerequisite for a better and sustainable future. The successes of recent decades in reducing levels of maternal and child mortality must not be set back and access to services for sexual and reproductive health rights must not be diminished. COVID-19 recovery planning provides an opportunity to use planetary health as a guiding development narrative, given the widely recognised interconnection between safeguarding of the earth’s ecosystem and human health (One Health).

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sensitive public health care systems; c) offering the best prevention and universal health care including people with disabilities and older people; d) ensuring strong development of local public health services for primary and secondary health prevention, including mental health issues; e) taking advantage of artificial intelligence and telemedicine; f) ensuring sexual and reproductive health services, specified as essential services by WHO 2020, as well as modern and free contraception, and dissemination of comprehensive information and guidance; 2. Promote free, universal, accessible, and affordable health care systems to combat COVID-19 and halt the pandemic and other globally significant existing and potential future diseases by a) guaranteeing equitable access to all control tools, drugs including vaccines and medical devices, supporting research to produce thermostable vaccines and drugs that do not need low temperatures for transporting and distributing to isolated regions; b) supporting the temporary waiver of patent rights of the Trade and Intellectual Property Rules to enable the production of COVID-19 vaccinations in more countries and accelerate the global effort to contain the pandemic and to address health globally as one nation;

FOCUS AREA Women’s Entrepreneurship and Finance Women have been hit harder than men in this pandemic crisis, in particular entrepreneurs. G20 members must develop a strategic policy to reinforce and relaunch female entrepreneurship, that generates multiplier effects to create jobs, drive innovation, and reduce inequalities, including sectors impacted by the pandemic and climate change.

Women entrepreneurs have the potential to add $13 Trillion USD to the global economy by 2030 (McKinsey, 2020) to help humanity build forward better, and contribute to government tax revenues. We call on G20 leaders to implement OECD suggestions for a strategic policy framework.

1. Ensure equal rights to ownership of assets and remove barriers to financial inclusion for all women by a) legislating for equal rights for women to finance and investments, ownership of land and assets, inheritance rights, pensions and insurance, mobile and cryptocurrency bank accounts, and devices for access to these assets, achieving financial independence and self-sufficiency; 2. Facilitate access to finance, and capacity building for all, in particular for solopreneurs and microenterprises by a) developing and promoting inclusive financial solutions, in partnership with public, private and civil society institutions, including microfinance, credit schemes and alternative systems of collateral to increase women’s access to finance; b) supporting access to digital banking, mobile money accounts, mobile commerce, and blockchain-enabled assets and technologies; c) providing incentives and an enabling environment

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for training to enable women to transition from solopreneurs to employer businesses, and from the informal to the formal economy; 3. Create policy frameworks and strategic growth initiatives by a) creating and/or updating overarching policy frameworks to support women’s entrepreneurship, including sectors that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic; b) developing actionable strategies with funding to overcome gaps in entrepreneurial ecosystems with innovative support services; c) creating incentives to fund innovative sectors poised for growth; 4. Create public procurement and access to markets initiatives by a) implementing policies to promote public procurement spend with women-owned SMEs and providing incentives for large government contractors to subcontract contract value to women-owned SMEs, by a minimum of 10% increase in improvement for each country according to its own baseline by 2030, using a “step by step” plan that will be piloted for 2 years and refined; d) researching and reporting progress on private and public procurement, international trade, ecommerce, for women-owned businesses of various sizes; 5. Promote private and public investment by a) incentivising private and public investment communities and philanthropists to incorporate a gender lens into their funding decisions across all asset classes; b) allocating a minimum of 1 percentage point of the new global minimum tax of at least 15% on corporations, endorsed by the G20, to fund womenowned and led SMEs and scale-ups, to help close the estimated several trillion dollar funding credit gap; c) incentivising all investors to invest in more women-founded and female/ male co-founded employer companies.

FOCUS AREA Digital Empowerment The pandemic has hastened digital transformation, dramatically deepening

gender inequalities. It is imperative to halt the digital marginalisation of girls and women impacted by this disruption, and urgently take action to ensure a just digital transformation where girls and women are fairly, meaningfully and equally engaged as digital citizens.

1. Ensure safe access to and use of digital technologies for all women and girls in G20 economies by 2026 by a) removing barriers such as prohibitive costs, insufficient infrastructure, unsafe online environments and harmful gender stereotypes; b) facilitating the use of the internet, mobile telephony and other digital tools by women and girls for health, education, financial, employment and other purposes; c) developing gender-sensitive ethical guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies; 2. Guarantee foundational digital skills for all women and girls of G20 members, with pathways to future work and expertise in disruptive technologies by 2026 by a) upskilling and reskilling women to address the skills shortage in digital and STEAM jobs; b) providing funding and incentives to public and private sectors to provide training and career development in digital fields to women and girls; c) implementing skills programmes that promote women’s financial inclusion and entrepreneurship, focused on and enabled by digital technologies to support women’s economic development; 3. Ensure that women hold equal leadership roles in digital fields in G20 economies by 2030, including technology organisations, start-ups, policy-making and academia, by a) ensuring women are equally represented in fields of technology research and development; b) creating more visibility of women in high level positions in the ICT sector; c) providing fiscal and other incentives to achieve gender-balanced leadership in the technology sector, including academia and research institutions;

It is imperative to halt the digital marginalisation of girls and women impacted by this disruption, and urgently take action to ensure a just digital transformation where girls and women are fairly, meaningfully and equally engaged as digital citizens.

4. Adopt and implement comprehensive and coordinated policies encompassing all relevant measures to identify, prevent and prosecute cyber violence and threats of violence by a) promoting awareness-raising programmes throughout society on how to prevent harmful online gender-based violence; b) legislating for prevention and punishment of online violence.

FOCUS AREA Labour The COVID-19 pandemic increased the entrenched gender inequalities that are prevalent in labour markets.

To counteract the current regression, which is holding back the global economy, interventions are urgently needed. Equal access to full and productive employment, including decent work with social protection for women and men is fundamental for a better future where everyone has an adequate standard of living and equal access to opportunities to realise their full potential. G20 leaders must accelerate the implementation of national gender equality plans towards and beyond the Brisbane 25x25 commitment, as mentioned in the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration (2021). → 51

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→ 1. Increase women’s employment rate and quality of work by removing structural barriers by a) promoting women’s economic autonomy and rights, ensuring decent work conditions and equitable remuneration, social protection and pensions; b) addressing gender and pensions gaps; c) creating new career opportunities for women; d) fostering standards and tools for remote working guaranteeing privacy, safety, security, work-life balance, and the right to disconnect from work; e) guaranteeing fiscal stimulus and recovery plans ensuring women’s access to jobs in traditional and non-traditional sectors, including those that were impacted by COVID-19;

2. Reduce the gender pay gap and the horizontal and vertical segregation of women in the labour market by a) implementing equal pay for work of equal value and pay transparent measures; b) implementing policies for affirmative action including temporary special measures to remove employment systems biases; c) developing new organisational structures based on fair and just employment practices for all; d) adopting gender responsive public procurement awarding organisations with certified gender equality performances together with at least 40% of women in decision making positions and welfare programmes; 3. Value unpaid care and domestic work in the definition of economic and social policies by a)recognising, reducing and redistributing women’s unpaid care and domestic work; b) investing a meaningful proportion of GDP, at least 2%, in the care economy, in accordance with national baselines, to create gender-responsive public health and care services, ensuring universal, free and accessible care for children, older people, and people with disabilities; c) securing paid maternity, paternity and shared parental leave, promoting shared responsibility among partners, in the national legislations and promoting its implementation.

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FOCUS AREA Violence Against Women and Girls and Gender Based Violence Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a violation of human rights and one of the most serious forms of discrimination against women.

VAWG affects the fundamental right to freedom, silencing voices, creating barriers and preventing equal and just participation in public and private spheres. VAWG manifests itself as physical, sexual, psychological, economic and other forms of violence including stalking, in homes, workplaces and public spaces. VAWG is a global emergency. Its eradication is a step on the road to gender equality.

1. Develop integrated and coherent public policies to ensure the right of every woman and girl to live free from violence by a) preventing, punishing, and providing reparation for all acts of violence; b) allocating funds for training for professionals involved in the multi-agency response (in the law enforcement, judicial, social, and health sectors) with the aim of reducing the risk of secondary victimisation; 2. Empower and support the right to freedom from violence and offer quality services for survivors by a) increasing funding and allocating appropriate public financial resources to women’s specialist support services; b) supporting healthcare models that provide trained health professionals, and adequate and accessible safe treatment; c) providing women survivors of violence with access to economic means and upholding their right to decent work, access to legal services, social, economic and environmental justice and to support child witnesses, especially orphans of femicide, and addressing the issues of forced early marriages and female genital mutilation; 3. Provide safe and welcoming workplaces by a) supporting ratification and full implementation of the ILO Convention n. 190; b) ratifying all international and regional conventions related to VAWG;

4. Combat human trafficking and modern slavery of women by a) paying particular attention to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and other marginalised groups; b) providing quick access to non-exploitative employment, residence status when needed, restitution of unpaid salaries and compensation, and personalised assistance and support.

FOCUS AREA Environmental Sustainability The Paris Agreement, brokered by women, underpins a global economic transformation needed to both limit climate change and foster human and planetary well-being. Women are most frequently first responders to crises, including health, food and water security. Women have also proven to be agents of change in the areas of resource sustainability and driving

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Women are most frequently first responders to crises, including health, food and water security.

Women have also proven to be agents of change in the areas of resource sustainability and driving forces behind the shift to a wellbeing economy.

forces behind the shift to a wellbeing economy. It is essential that G20 members engage the wealth of ingenuity and ability that lies with women leaders and experts, including grassroots women’s organisations.

1. Prevent and mitigate the effect of climate change and environmental degradation on women by a) providing more effective mitigation and adaptation measures through gender-responsive interventions, and health equity with the One Health approach; b) providing measures to guarantee education and decent work opportunities for women affected by natural disasters and other effects of climate change; c) strengthening equal access to environmental justice and tackling discrimination that affects women’s rights and their ability to adapt to climate change and other forms of environmental

degradation; d) ensuring all climate finance is gender-just; e) ensuring that women have equal representation in decision-making positions; 2. Provide equal opportunities in the climate, environment and energy sectors, including green, blue and circular economies for a socially just transition by a) supporting inclusive job creation and entrepreneurial business, investing in education, up-skilling and reskilling to increase women’s ecological and carbon literacy; b) promoting strategies for sustainable food and water security and building resilience of women to climate change; 3. Build and redesign sustainable and inclusive intermediary cities and other communities by a) rethinking or adapting urban design and planning considering women’s and

girls’ needs in terms of wellbeing, lifestyle, health and security, including public transportation and e-mobility solutions; b) planning gender budgeting and gender procurement for the development of rural, indigenous and other communities with the provision of access to essential services such as education, health and renewable energy.

MOVING FORWARD The W20 welcomes the G20 Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration (2021), including the G20 Roadmap Towards and Beyond Brisbane Target, to reach more, better and equally paid jobs for women, and asks for this to be included as an attachment in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, along with the focus areas and cross-cutting recommendations in this Communiqué.

In addition, we call on G20 members to establish a clear mechanism to monitor progress and accountability on commitments on gender equality.

Reinforcement of the engagement groups infrastructure by G20 would facilitate an effective transition among presidencies each year and maximize effectiveness of their contribution to the political and policy making processes. ◆ 53

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26 EXPLAINED

Securing a brighter future for our children and future generations requires countries to take urgent action at home and abroad to turn the tide on climatechange. It is with ambition, courage and collaboration as we approach thecrucial COP26 summit in the UK that we can seize this moment together, so we can recover cleaner, rebuild greener and restore our planet.

PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BORIS JOHNSON

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Foreword COP PRESIDENT-DESIGNATE ALOK SHARMA

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought devastation to millions around the world, disrupting many parts of the global economy. Governments, including our own, have stepped up to protect lives and livelihoods. But climate change has continued, and it ultimately threatens life on earth.

As countries begin to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic, we must take the historic opportunity to tackle climate change at the same time – to build back better, and greener. We can deliver green recoveries across th globe that bring in good jobs, trillions in investment and ground-breaking new technology. And we must. To keep the temperature of the planet under control – limiting its increase to 1.5 degrees the science dictates that by the second half of the century, we should be producing less carbon than we take out of the atmosphere. This is what reaching ‘net zero’ means.

The journey is already underway.

Despite the pandemic, the direction of travel is changing. Around 70% of the world economy is now covered by net zero targets, up from less than 30% when the UK took on the Presidency of COP26. The world is moving towards a lowcarbon future. Clean energy, like wind and solar, is now the cheapest source of electricity in most countries; many of the world’s car makers are shifting to make only electric and

hybrid models; countries around the world are starting important work to protect and restore nature; cities, states and regions across the world are also committing to reduce emissions to zero.

Our country, the UK, is leading the way – over the last 30 years British governments have grown our economy by 78% while cutting emissions by 44%.

That shows green growth is real. In 2012, 40% of our electricity came from coal. That figure is now less than 2%.

That shows that change is possible. The UK was the first country to pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, we will completely phase out coal power by 2024 and will end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

We are introducing legally binding targets to restore nature and radical reforms to agricultural subsidies. The Prime Minister has set out a Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution to help us reach our climate commitments whilst creating thousands of highly skilled jobs and already, many more Brits earn their living from clean green jobs.

Around the world we are also seeing progress. Together with the United Nations, Italy, France and Chile we hosted the Climate Ambition Summit which brought together 75 leaders from around the world. It was a major stride forward, with new commitments on climate announced by every leader who joined. It’s an important indicator that we are all serious about getting carbon emissions down now. Even so, we’re going to need much more. We cannot wake up in 2029 and decide to slash our emissions by 50% by 2030. That’s why the next six months will see the UK push others not to flinch from the big policy decisions: ending coal power, phasing out polluting vehicles, making agriculture more sustainable, tackling deforestation and supporting developing countries with finance.

Unfortunately reducing emissions is not enough. For many nations, the picture is far bleaker. I was born in India and for a time I served as the UK government’s minister responsible for international aid – I have real sympathy with less developed countries that feel it’s for the developed industrial nations to help sort out a problem largely of their making. Indeed, one of the reasons we are determined to hold COP26 in person is to ensure the voices of these countries are heard and acted on.

For those countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change - who are already seeing their homes disappear under water and their crops decimated by drought - COP26 simply can’t be another talking shop. In 2009, rich countries promised they would work towards raising $100bn each year by 2020 to help these countries tackle climate change. Donors need to demonstrate that the target will be met and surpassed. As COP President Designate, I am determined that we will.

There is no viable pathway to net zero emissions that does not involve protecting and restoring nature on an unprecedented scale. If we are serious about holding temperature rises to 1.5 degrees and adapting to the impacts of climate change, we must change the way we look after our land and seas and how we grow our food. This is also important if we want to protect and restore the world’s biodiversity, upon which all life depends.

At COP26, we will work with partners to take forward action on protecting and restoring forests and critical ecosystems, and we will champion the transition towards sustainable, resilient and nature positive agriculture. COP26 needs to be decisive. Whether future generations look back at this time with admiration or despair, depends entirely on our ability to seize this moment.

Let’s seize it together.

AS COUNTRIES BEGIN TO RECOVER FROM THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, WE MUST TAKE THE HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE SAME TIME – TO BUILD BACK BETTER, AND GREENER. GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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Introduction

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Around the world storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying.

Air pollution sadly affects the health of tens of millions of people and unpredictable weather causes untold damage to homes and livelihoods too.

But while the impacts of climate change are devastating, advances in tackling it are leading to cleaner air, creating good jobs, restoring nature and at the same time unleashing economic growth.

Despite the opportunities we are not acting fast enough. To avert this crisis, countries need to join forces urgently.

In November, the UK, together with our partner Italy, will host an event many believe to be the world’s last best chance to get runaway climate change under control. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits - called COPs - which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’.

‘In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow.

In the run up to COP26 the UK is working with every nation to reach agreement on how to tackle climate change. More than 190 world leaders are expected to arrive in Scotland.

Together with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks. Not only is it a huge task but it is also not just yet another international summit. Most experts believe COP26 has a particular urgency.

To understand why, it’s necessary to look back to another COP. COP21 took place in Paris in 2015. For the first time ever, something momentous happened: every country agreed to work together

to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and aim for 1.5 degrees, to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate and to make money available to deliver on these aims. The Paris Agreement was born. The commitment to aim for 1.5 degrees is important because every fraction of a degree of warming results in the tragedy of many more lives lost and livelihoods damaged.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions - known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time.

The run up to this year’s summit in Glasgow is the moment (delayed by a year due to the pandemic) when countries update their plans for reducing emissions. But, the commitments laid out in Paris did not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the window for achieving this is closing. The decade out to 2030 will be crucial. So as momentous as Paris was, countries must go much further to keep the hope of holding temperature rises to 1.5 degrees alive.

International climate summits are complex. Here in the UK COP26 team we want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand what COP26 is and what the UK team is working to achieve. In this introduction you’ll find the summary of our goals; explanations of the processes, a glossary for technical phrases and perhaps most importantly, ways for you to get involved.

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THE UK’S LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE

to be proud of when it comes to acting on climate change. We have shown that climate action can go hand-in-hand with economic growth. Between 1990 and 2019, we achieved record clean growth.

In that time our economy grew by 78% and our emissions decreased by 44% over this time, the fastest decline in the G7.

•W e have announced the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, putting the UK on course to be the fastest G7 country to decarbonise cars and vans •W e will spend at least £3bn of our international climate finance in the next 5 years on nature and nature based solutions •W e are planting trees on 30,000 hectares of land per year by 2025 •W e have announced plans that put farmers at the forefront of reversing environmental decline and tackling climate change •W e will make climate-related disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, with most requirements coming in by 2023 •T he low carbon sector and supply chain provides over 460,000 jobs in the UK. Our ambition is for up to 2 million green jobs by 2030.

• We have decarbonised our economy faster than any other country in the G20 since 2000 • We were the first major economy to put into law that we will reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 • We are the largest producer of offshore wind energy in the world • We will end direct government support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas • We are doubling our international climate finance to help developing nations with £11.6bn over the next five years up to 2025/2026

As the world looks to recover from the impact of coronavirus on our lives, livelihoods and economies, we have the chance to build back better. Our Ten Point Plan will help deliver a green industrial revolution - by investing in clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies - creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process.

Leading the world in tackling and adapting to climate change is a major economic opportunity for the UK, that will create new skilled jobs across the country as well as export opportunities for our firms.

The UK has a lot

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SECURE GLOBAL NET ZERO AND KEEP 1.5 DEGREES WITHIN REACH The targets announced in Paris would result in warming well above 3 degrees by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. If we continue as we are, temperatures will carry on rising, bringing even more catastrophic flooding, bush fires, extreme weather and destruction of species.

We have made progress in recent months to bend the temperature curve closer to 2 degrees; but the science shows that much more must be done to keep 1.5 degrees in reach.

The world needs to halve emissions over the next decade and reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century if we are to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.

As part of the Paris Agreement, every country agreed to communicate or update their emissions reduction targets - their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) - every five years to reflect their highest possible ambition and a progression over

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W COP26

URGENTLY ADAPT TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES AND NATURAL HABITATS time. These targets set out how far countries plan to reduce emissions across their entire economy and/or in specific sectors. 2020 marked the first of these five year cycles. This means that countries are expected to update their 2030 targets before we meet in Glasgow. We are calling on all countries to update them so that they are in line with holding temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. It is especially important that developed countries and the largest emitters take the lead.

While targets are important, they must translate into action, fast.

Which is why developed countries must rapidly phase out coal power, and all countries should commit to not opening or financing any new coal-fired power stations across the world.

At the same time, we must work together to provide developing countries with better support to deliver clean energy to their citizens.

Forests play a vital role in removing

carbon from the air. Protecting them is critical if we are going to meet our climate goals, and right now they are still being lost at the rate of a football pitch every few seconds. We are encouraging countries to work together to reform the global trade in agricultural commodities (like beef, soy and palm oil) so that sustainable production is rewarded, helping farmers to make a better living while forests are protected.

And finally, we need to clean up our air and reduce carbon emissions by switching to driving zero emission cars, vans and trucks. The UK will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Countries with major car markets should follow our lead. If we send a strong signal to the industry, investment will shift more quickly to new, clean technologies, and all countries will be able to enjoy the benefits sooner.

THE WORLD IS CURRENTLY NOT ON TRACK TO LIMIT GLOBAL WARMING TO 1.5 DEGREES.

Even as we work tirelessly to reduce emissions, further change is inevitable. We know that the most vulnerable are at the greatest risk from climate change, and that they have done the least to cause it. Action to address this and build resilience is needed now, before more people lose their lives or livelihoods.

The international community must unite and support people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of the changing climate. We need more action to avert, minimise and address the loss and damage that is already occurring from climate change. Plans and more finance need to be put in place to improve early warning systems, flood defences, and build resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid further loss of life, livelihoods and natural habitats.

Protecting and restoring habitats is a powerful way to boost resilience to the impacts of the changing climate. They help to build natural storm and flood defences, whilst flourishing ecosystems contribute to sustainable farming and support billions of lives worldwide.

All countries should produce an ‘Adaptation Communication’, which is a summary of what they are doing and planning to do to adapt to the impacts of the changing climate, challenges they face and where they need help. These plans will help us learn together and share best practice between countries.

The UK has co-developed the Adaptation Action Coalition, in partnership with Egypt, Bangladesh, Malawi, the Netherlands, Saint Lucia and the United Nations Development Programme. The coalition is bringing countries together to find solutions to some of the most challenging impacts of climate change, and we are inviting all countries to join us.

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MOBILISE FINANCE

Countries need to manage the increasing impacts of climate change on their citizens’ lives and they need the funding to do it.

The scale and speed of the changes we need to make will require all forms of finance: public finance for the development of infrastructure we need to transition to a greener and more climate-resilient economy; private finance to fund technology and innovation, and to help turn the billions of public money into trillions of total climate investment.

Developing countries in particular need support. Developed countries must deliver on their promise to raise at least $100 billion every year in climate finance to support developing countries.

The OECD estimates that $78.9bn of climate finance was mobilised in 2018.

This must include building new markets for adaptation and mitigation and improving the quantity, quality and access to finance to support communities around the world to take action on the changing climate.

The UK is doubling our International Climate Finance commitment to at least

£11.6 billion between 2021 and 2025.

We want as many countries as possible to follow our lead and increase their commitment through to 2025.

Ahead of COP26, we must work to unleash the trillions in private finance that are needed to power us towards net zero by the middle of the century.

To do this, every financial decision needs to take climate into account. This includes all private investment decisions, but also all spending decisions that countries and international financial institutions are making as they roll out stimulus packages to rebuild economies from the pandemic.

Companies need to be transparent about the risks and opportunities that climate change, and the shift to a net zero economy pose to their business.

Central banks and regulators need to make sure that our financial systems can withstand the impacts of climate change and support the transition to net zero. It also means banks, insurers, investors and other financial firms committing to ensuring their investments and lending is aligned with net zero.

TO ACHIEVE OUR CLIMATE GOALS, EVERY COMPANY, EVERY FINANCIAL FIRM, EVERY BANK, INSURER AND INVESTOR WILL NEED TO CHANGE. GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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WORK TOGETHER TO DELIVER

Doing so will help deliver on our other three goals and show everyone that the world is moving to a resilient, net zero economy.

A focus for the negotiations is finalising the rules needed to implement the Paris Agreement, called the ‘Paris Rulebook’. We must find solutions so that carbon markets can enable greater ambition in mitigation and adaptation actions. We must resolve the issues a ound transparent reporting to build confidence in the system and support all countries to meet their commitments. And we must broker an agreement that drives ambition from governments over the coming years to keep 1.5 degrees alive.

The UN negotiations are consensusbased, and reaching agreement will depend on leaving no issue behind and making sure everyone’s voice is heard.

Which is why we are working hard to remove barriers that prevent everyone

from participating in COP26 and championing the voices of communities vulnerable to climate change, including indigenous peoples and communities grappling with the transition from high carbon activities.

However, finalising the Paris Rulebook on its own will not deliver net zero. This decade is decisive and we need to turn ambition into action.

Governments, business and civil society (sometimes called ‘non-state actors’) need to work together to transform the ways we power our homes and businesses, grow our food, develop infrastructure and move ourselves and goods around. Which is why we are working hand in glove with the UN H gh Level Champions on Climate Action to catalyse transformation in the global economy.

By committing to work together in this way we are laying the foundations for faster progress in the decade to come.

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We will be working with broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough, as‘COP26 People’s Advocate’ to inspire everyone to take action on the road to COP26.

In the run up to the summit we will be working with people from across the UK to tell your stories about taking action. From the engineers working on the offshore wind farms that power our homes and businesses to local initiatives encouraging children and parents to walk to school, we want to show the hidden momentum being created by people just like you as we all act on climate change together.

We recently ran a process to invite organisations from across the UK to submit their ideas for events, exhibitions and workshops to take place in Glasgow, and have received many thousands of inspiring entries.

These will help to make coming to COP26 an exciting experience for everyone. We have also worked closely with Glasgow City Council to recruit

volunteers to support COP26 and had an overwhelming response, with over 10,000 applicants.

Budding writers can take part in our Blue Peter competition Our Planet Now. Children from across the UK are invited to write a poem or story about something that is affecting our planet today. The winning entry will be transformed into a short animated film by Aardman Animations, and premiered at COP26 to set the scene for world leaders to take urgent climate action.

We want to make it as easy as possible for UK schools, MPs, local authorities and religious groups to act on climate change in advance of COP26. Whether you want to help people understand what the summit is for or to galvanise action in your local area, we will have something for you.

We will be releasing a number of toolkits with branding, ideas and resources to help. Keep an eye on the Together for our Planet website for more information.

I AM GREATLY HONOURED TO BE GIVEN THE ROLE OF PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE. THERE COULD NOT BE A MORE IMPORTANT MOMENT THAT WE SHOULD HAVE INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT. THE EPIDEMIC HAS SHOWN US HOW CRUCIAL IT IS TO FIND AGREEMENT AMONG NATIONS IF WE ARE TO SOLVE SUCH WORLDWIDE PROBLEMS. BUT THE PROBLEMS THAT AWAIT US WITHIN THE NEXT 5 - 10 YEARS ARE EVEN GREATER. IT IS CRUCIAL THAT THESE MEETINGS IN GLASGOW, COP26, HAVE SUCCESS, AND THAT AT LAST THE NATIONS WILL COME TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE CRIPPLING PROBLEMS THAT THE WORLD NOW FACES. SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

WHY DOES LIMITING TEMPERATURE RISE TO 1.5 DEGREES MATTER? At 2 degrees of global warming, there would be widespread and severe impacts on people and nature. A third of the world’s population would be regularly exposed to severe heat, leading to health problems and more heat-related deaths.

Almost all warm water coral reefs would be destroyed, and the Arctic sea ice would melt entirely at least one summer per decade, with devastating impacts on the wildlife and communities they support. We cannot rule out the possibility that irreversible loss of ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic could be triggered, leading to several metres of sea level rise over centuries to come.

At 1.5°C, the impacts would be serious, but less severe. There would be lower risks of food and water shortages, lower risks to economic growth and fewer species at risk of extinction. Threats to human health from air pollution, disease, malnutrition and exposure to extreme heat would also be lower. That is why every fraction of a degree of warming matters, and why we are dedicated to keeping the prospect of holding

temperature rises to 1.5 degrees alive.

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Towards Regenerative Stakeholder Capitalism Why We Need Trusted & Empathetic Leaders More Than Ever.

By Andrea Bonime-Blanc

Whether it is a new normal or a next normal, what comes after the COVID-19 pandemic must be a pivot from the old, tired, and exclusive models of leadership and capitalism (and related systemic corruption) that have prevailed over the past few decades to a more sustainable, ethical, inclusive form of regenerative stakeholder capitalism that addresses some of the critical and even existential global environmental, social, governance, and technological (ESGT) challenges of our times.

And the most critical ingredient to achieve this? Trustworthy, stakeholdersavvy, empathetic leaders leading key institutions—in business, government, GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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and society—engaged and focused on effective public, private, social partnerships, and collaboration at every level.

It is only in this way that we will begin to scratch the surface of some of the deepest challenges of our time— climate, cyber, inequality, health, tech ethics, human rights—because such challenges can only be solved by leaders who are naturally empathetic, inclusive, collaborative, expert, and thus trusted.

Deconstructing the Problem As the annual Edelman Trust Barometer has shown for the past dozen years, stakeholder trust in four key

institutions (business, government, media, and nonprofits) and their leaders has been on a steady decline globally.

It’s not surprising. Studies have found that we don’t always have the best and the brightest serving in leadership roles regardless of sector. Indeed, we often have manipulative, wiliest, and sometimes incompetent in charge instead.

In my own work, I have examined research on the characteristics of leaders on a spectrum from sociopathic to altruistic and it is no wonder that trust has plummeted. These studies show that there are substantially more sociopathic and hubristic leaders in leadership positions than in society generally. For example, neurologists

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W S TA K E H O L D E R R E G E N E R AT I O N

BUSINESS NOW ONLY INSTITUTION SEEN AS BOTH COMPETENT AND ETHICAL (Competence score, net ethical score)

2021 Edelman Trust Barometer. The ethical scores are averages of net based on INS_DIM/1-4. Question asked on behalf of the sample.

The competence score is a net based on TRU_3D_INS/1. Depending on the question it was ether asked of the full of half the sample.

General population, 24-mkt avg. Data not collocted in China, Russia and Thailand. For full details regarding how this data was calculated and plotted, please see the Technocal Appendix.

If we just look around the hallowed halls of top leadership just about anywhere, it could be observed that there are more of the less than desirable persons in positions of power exhibiting sociopathy, narcissism, hubris, authoritarianism, or incompetency. estimate that about 4% of the general human population are sociopaths, but further studies have suggested that this percentage may be closer to 18% or more at leadership levels. If we just look around the hallowed halls of top leadership just about anywhere, it could be observed that there are more of the less than desirable persons in positions of power exhibiting sociopathy, narcissism, hubris, authoritarianism, or incompetency.

The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer however, does appear to offer a potential silver lining and opportunity for leaders. On a twodimensional competency/ethicality grid (see Figure above), business

rose above the other three institutions to display a modicum of both competency and ethicality. Meanwhile, NGOs were considered ethical but somewhat less competent while the other two—government and media— were considered both less competent and less ethical.

Reconstructing a Solution If we are going to build a world in which the next pandemic is contained before it becomes one, devastating climate change effects are addressed through aggressive coordinated climate action, cyber-mayhem is prevented through effective cyber resilience and defense collaboration, the erosion of

democracy and human rights is met by international pro-democratic alliances, and our global economy moves from wasteful and destructive to sustainable and regenerative, then stakeholders everywhere need to step up to the plate and be counted.

This means that each of us as stakeholders in our communities, workplaces, educational institutions, investments, and local, regional, and national elections (if we are lucky enough to live in democracies) with even a modicum of decision-making or influencing power should use that power to choose, elect, or demand competent, empathetic, inclusive, and stakeholder-savvy leaders. → 67

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Most important leadership competencies according to leaders from around the world surveyed by HBR Leadership Competency

Percentage of Respondents

■ Has high ethical and moral standards

67%

■ Provides goals and objectives with loose guidelines/direction

59%

■ Clearly communicates expectations

56%

■ Has the flexibility to change opinions

52%

■ Is committed to my ongoing training

43%

■ Communicates often and openly

42%

■ Is open to new ideas and approaches

39%

■ Creates a feeling of succeeding and failing together

38%

■ Helps me grow into a next-generation leader

38%

■ Provides safety for trail and error

37%

Source. Harvard Business Review

→ A good place to start understanding great leadership competencies is to see in the table above from Gloom to Boom what global CEOs consider to be the top qualities of an effective CEO: all of these including the top quality of all—ethicality and morality—speak to empathy, inclusiveness, and stakeholder savvy.

We need to select leaders with emotional intelligence. This means in democracies, electing leaders that listen to and represent stakeholders, like PM Jacinda Ardern from New Zealand. In business, among other things, it means listening to activist shareholders and other key stakeholders (employees, customers, younger generations) before it’s too late. It means choosing leaders that are responsible or enlightened not GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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only as to their core mission and strategy but also when it comes to ESGT issues.

The idea is to go beyond stale leadership and stale capitalism that has prevailed and have leaders—CEOs, board members, government officials, social enterprise leaders—who actually get that social responsibility and value regeneration is part of their job and that being trusted by their key stakeholders is at its core.

It is only these leaders—working together across silos—that will achieve a better, more inclusive, more stakeholder sensitive version of capitalism that will benefit most of the globe. Whether you call it “Stakeholder Capitalism” or “Capitalism with a Human Face” or “Regenerative

The point is to integrate the “people” and “planet” part into the “profit” piece to create a next level of sustainability— sustainable regeneration that is savvy to people and planet, providing in the process ample profit.

Stakeholder Capitalism” doesn’t really matter. The point is to integrate the “people” and “planet” part into the “profit” piece to create a next level of sustainability—sustainable regeneration that is savvy to people and planet, providing in the process ample profit. ◆

About the author ANDREA BONIME-BLANC, CEO/Founder, GEC Risk Advisory, is a global governance, risk, ESG, and cyber strategist. She is Independent Ethics Advisor to the Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico. She spent two decades in the global corporate c-suite and serves on several boards. She teaches at NYU and her latest book is “Gloom to Boom: How Leaders Transform Risk into Resilience and Value.”

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How to Change Course When Things Are Going South Interview with Ambassador Lisa Gable on the Release of her New Book, Turnaround: How to Change Course When Things Are Going South.

By Ana C. Rold

I can count the times when things went south in my business. They are but a handful and all had the same exact two characteristics: I was unwilling to see that things were indeed going south and I felt paralyzed about making a drastic course correction. There is a bit of hubris that comes with the first statement, I must admit. This unwillingness to admit errors or that a direction, venture, partnership, etc. are in their final breath, stems from overconfidence that what should have worked, must work. Feeling paralyzed comes from the desire not to disrupt the status quo—as dysfunctional as that may be. Being so confident and so insecure at the same time is paradoxical and likely not a surprise condition for most entrepreneurs (or solopreneurs) and leaders.

Naturally, when I read Ambassador Lisa Gable’s new book “Turnaround: How to Change Course When Things Are Going South”, I found myself nodding in agreement—and not just because every chapter resonated with examples of my own journey as a founder. I have known Lisa Gable for almost the entirety of my entrepreneurial career. As one of my early champions and board members, I had the distinct benefit few entrepreneurs have at my age: a very generous with her time and resources advisor. In fact, for every single occurrence I mentioned earlier, GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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when things had gone horribly wrong, Lisa was there to help me course correct—even as recently as this year.

So, I am not overstating when I say her advice on Turnaround is timely and prescient.

I’ve followed Lisa’s career with great interest. For one, I have been interested in her agility; her ability to reinvent herself from business executive to policy insider to civil society leader.

Today, we talk about our generation changing multiple careers, not just jobs, but when Lisa was doing it, that wasn’t the popular thing to do. In Washington, where granular expertise in one sector is revered, Lisa broke the mold. She went from advising four U.S. presidents to leading entire industries (some on the verge of major disruption and distress). In a town where you are defined by which political side you’re on, Lisa is a peacebuilder to political factions and interests. I can say this with confidence, I know very few people that can do that in Washington— especially in this polarizing political environment.

As one of our longest-standing advisory board members at Diplomatic Courier, I wanted to give an opportunity to our audience to get to know Lisa like I do and benefit from the advice that has helped me and my organization thrive in over a decade and a half. Whether you are a student, entrepreneur, executive, or a diplomat, there is tangible advice here for you.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What made you decide to write this book? Who is this book for?

I am at a point in life and my career in which I find myself with the flexibility (due to COVID-19 I was not traveling and was living on our farm) and the desire to engage from a place that can make a difference and, in some cases, touches people’s hearts. I know that together we can find solutions to advance society in every way and allow us to learn from the creativity that arises during times of crisis as this book leverages lessons learned and processes developed in my 35+ years of experience orchestrating successful turnarounds in business, philanthropy, and government. These methods are particularly relevant today as we need to connect with everyone’s unique and diverse perspectives that we may arrive at the best possible solutions to the many challenges before us today and down the road.

This book will benefit anyone who needs to up-level a struggling team, respond to new market forces, navigate a crisis, or lead wholesale leadership changes. If you are in any of these situations and have recognized the need to act upon it, this book gives you simple tips and tools to breakthrough and realize the future you envision for your people, your organization, and the customers or community you support.

In this crazy cycle of hyper competition, reinvention, and disruption, how can leaders survive and even thrive in disruption?

A good turnaround specialist is someone who combines process with diplomacy.

• Staying focused on fewer things (I call them Jobs 1, 2, and 3 in the book) and then executing them better, faster, and more cost-efficiently than your competitors.

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• Being a good partner. A team made up of smart people who are willing to align around common goals accelerates innovation.

• Admitting when you don’t know something. No one expects you to be an expert in everything. Ask for help, assess the facts, make a decision, and move on quickly.

• Understanding and appreciating the diversity of your customer base. Be willing to have deeper conversations with real people who are impacted by the work you do. Understand them and their needs.

• Checking your ego at the door and remembering that you are a custodian acting on behalf of an institution, the customers, and the constituents you represent.

• Making the tough decisions quickly, consistently, and firmly but with heart by treating the people impacted by those changes with dignity and respect.

When in the midst of disruption or change, what should a leader consider first in course correcting, and why?

When I meet with someone who is struggling with a project or an organization, I ask them to describe their perfect world scenario. What is the end point you want to achieve?

Without understanding where you are going, there’s little chance of getting there. And along the way, your team will get distracted. You risk becoming obsessed with the problems you are trying to solve and tweaking around the edges or believing that a tactical solution can bring about big picture types of results.

The power of vision and the power of the big idea becomes Job #1 for any leader looking to create sustainable change and seeking to guide an organization, a project, navigate a merger, or change the world.

By clearly defining Job 1, you maximize and leverage the core competency that your project or organization is uniquely qualified in and that drives your position of strength.

In the usiness world failure is an anathema. How can failure help us achieve greater success?

A successful person is the individual who can dispassionately assess the mistakes they made (not engage in self-flagellation) and evaluate where things went off course. Clearing your mind of self-recrimination, provides clarity. You discover the key to your future success. For example, a scientific discovery may be buried in the work you did before. One doctor with whom I work refers to it as the idea that is half baked sitting on the shelf. You take it down, dust it off, and possibly realize that due to new discoveries or

technological innovations you may have the right formula for the next breakthrough. What had been a failure or a period of non-achievement ends up being the answer to your current problem.

In other cases, it may be that you learn that your motivations were tied to what you thought you should do (building the perfect resume) instead of what you are uniquely capable of doing.

During moments of failure, I take out a letter that I received from my dad during my late 20’s: “Remember to look beyond what is currently in your life and try to visualize what is unseen.

Count your blessings and it will also help you challenge the crisis you are experiencing...Some of the greatest stumbling blocks I have ever faced have also resulted in being my greatest steppingstones.”

All successful people have failed at some point in their life. The failure may have been public or it might have happened in a way that was more personal. Lead your life with humility and a focus on continuous improvement as that prepares you for the next big challenge and unanticipated success. → 71

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→ When is a good time to course correct?

Does tenacity to make things work against the leader or the entrepreneur?

Hitting the pause button on an idea or a project for which you have made sacrifices-financial, personal, emotional— is one of the hardest actions an entrepreneur or leader can take.

Sometimes, God literally slams the door in my face, as I will never give up otherwise; however, deep down, I know another door will eventually open. You may go through a rough transition.

You may zig and zag. But keep your eye on the ultimate objective you wanted to accomplish—the good thing you wanted to do. Let go of the “how you planned to accomplish it” as this action releases you to creatively identify a new path forward.

I want to share one note of caution as it is critical to accept. The path forward for your project or institution may include you or it may not. You may merge your business or non-profit to ensure the needs of the customer are still met. You may step away from your leadership role and let someone else take the organization to the next level of performance using different methods then yours. Neither option should be considered a failure. In fact, either option may lead to your greatest achievement as leaving a deliverable at every step of the way speaks to your impact on the world around you.

What are the ingredients for course correction or a turnaround process?

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but it’s rarely easy. It requires vision.

And as it turns out, vision is very practical; it’s not just consulting speak and PowerPoint. Vision is the critical ingredient in getting to the end state.

In my book, I take you through four straightforward but rigorous steps to help you must take to pull off a successful turnaround and move your vision into reality: • Visualize the future. Stop thinking of the problem and tweaking what’s already there. Focus on where you want to end—your future perfect scenario.

• Break down the past. Analyze what is working today and can bring your new future to life—and what is not, needs to go.

• Create a path from present to future.

Map out the critical decisions you need to make—and build the right team to move forward with them.

• Execute with speed, confidence and heart. Set aggressive goals and partner well so you can speed towards your goal.

When, in your experience, did you struggle most with a turnaround moment? What was your most challenging turnaround moment and why?

I accepted my role as CEO of FARE with the understanding that I would need to restructure the organization.

By the end of 2019, the FARE team increased revenue by 62% while keeping expenses relatively flat,

achieved reductions in management and overhead by 30% and reduced fundraising expenses by 10%—resulting in a profit increase of 676%. However, to achieve a sustainable financial position we executed a restructure of 49% in the first 80 days and ultimately an 83% restructure.

In my book, I focus a great deal of attention on the impact of critical business decisions on people. Leaders make hard decisions, which can disrupt people’s lives. It is important to remember that in the majority of cases, a position is eliminated due to market dynamics or a result of a change in the priorities of the organization or project—not due to issues around competence.

Inevitably in a turnaround, you will have to make some tough decisions about who to keep, who to let go, and who you can inspire to rise to the occasion. I can honestly say that a day I spent rightsizing FARE was the most difficult 12 hours of my professional life as dedicated employees—good people—were impacted.

Having compassion and empathy for people as you’re setting up the new organization is not only the right thing to do from a human perspective, but it pays dividends when the remaining team sees that people have been treated with dignity even as they leave the group.

How you treat people is an asset for a leader in creating the organization’s future; it also becomes a big part of your legacy.

What is your parting advice for entrepreneurs and leaders?

As a fellow leader, I leave you with is this: Think big and create a bold vision of the end state. Embrace data and process so you can right the ship and measure forward progress. Build a strong team; they are your path to the future. Invest in and mentor your people, be generous with your time and guidance. Make time to network; opportunities and partnerships come when you least expect them to. Start with how you want to be remembered, follow a plan, and hand over an organization more robust and even more capable of thriving after you leave. ◆

Pandemic Governance: Reflections from the Pan-European PERISCOPE Project

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INTRODUCTION: Prof. Tim Allen, LSE, Director of the Firoz Lalji Institute

A Catastrophic Pandemic has been long predicted. In a much-read book, Leslie Garrett warned of The Coming Plague twenty-five years ago.

More recently, a National Academy of Medicine Global Commission on the Neglected Dimension of Global Security in 2016 highlighted the fact that a world-wide outbreak from one of the coronaviruses was likely and outlined governance measures required to prevent it. However, when the outbreak happened, it seemed to surprise many.

Policy responses often had a quality of being made up ‘on the fly’ and have been poorly coordinated regionally, and globally. Perhaps most troublingly, a world-wide affliction has come to be associated with nationalist, populist, exclusionary and even dictatorial agendas that have not prioritised what might normally be understood as public health.

Strategies that have purportedly been ‘following the science’ have manifestly been doing something else, and morbidity and mortality have coincided with political, social, and economic hierarchies.

Nevertheless, there have been remarkable successes. Most obviously, these have included the unprecedented production of effective vaccines in less than a year. There has also been a great deal of more positive governance going on, occurring independently, or in conjunction with formally constituted procedures of governments. Civil society groups, neighbourhood arrangements, religious communities, extended family networks and a host of different sorts of public authorities have been active.

They have in many circumstances provided the support that formal governments have failed to provide or struggled to deliver. COVID-19 has opened a space for new collaborations, and that space has included researchers who have had to move beyond disciplinary silos. They have urgently needed to speak to each other and learn from alternative perspectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required new kinds of alliances and different ways of assessing evidence and shaping policy. That has been especially important in finding out what is not

known, what the right questions are to ask, and what the best choices are where information is limited, and conventional modes of data assessment are both too slow and too partial. It is now apparent to everyone that this pandemic is not going to just go away.

Also, there will be others. That is inevitable. What we are finding out about in the the wake of COVID-19 is a part of our future, and we will set aside those lessons at our peril.

Against this background, more than 30 academic and policy institutions from across Europe have joined forces to map out and analyse the unintended impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak; develop innovative solutions and guidance for policymakers and health authorities on how to mitigate this impact; and enhance preparedness for future similar events, including considerations for the future multi-level governance in the health as well as other domains affected by the outbreak.

The project, called the Pan-European Response to the Impacts of COVID-19 and future Pandemics and Epidemics (PERISCOPE) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101016233. PERISCOPE is already producing new information on the conditions that led to the impact of the pandemic, the differences in “policy mix” adopted at the national level in EU and associated countries, and the behavioural impacts of both the outbreak and the policies adopted. The project leader is the University of Pavia (UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PAVIA).

Here we present a few preliminary findings, essentially to indicate a selection of key themes from our ongoing research. The points are summarised by various Periscope colleagues.

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE FAILURES AND PROSPECT Erik Berglof, AIIB At virtually every stage of the pandemic global governance has failed us. It had not sufficiently prepared us for such event, and it did not respond in a coordinated way once the virus had struck. The most extreme expression of this failure is probably in the unequal distribution of vaccines between wealthy countries and those with limited economic resources, notably in Africa. The outcome is not only grossly unfair, but also highly inefficient as the low vaccination rates mean that the virus will become endemic and continue to mutate, also threatening to infect people as the immunity from vaccines or previous infection wanes.

World leaders have been slow in responding, but over the last six months three high-level international commissions have delivered important reports on how to improve prevention, resilience, and response to future pandemics. They all agree that the World Health Organization (WHO) must be strengthened and much better funded, but they also call for closer collaboration between health

ministries and finance ministries and the creation of new funding mechanisms to ensure that the necessary investments are undertaken. For the very first time G20 health ministers and finance ministers have met in two sessions. The G20 countries are now discussing how to make this cooperation a more permanent feature of global governance, and perhaps even make this a regular feature of the meetings of G20 leaders.

Ultimately, global governance must recognize that fundamental improvements in basic health require an all-government approach where health and pandemic response are mainstreamed across all policy areas. At the global level, this will require the creation of platforms that both benefit from the political legitimacy offered by the WHO and the implementation capacity of the multilateral development banks, but also the specialized skills and commitment of the civil society organizations, both globally and individual countries. At the country level, governments must bring together international partners as well as bilateral organizations on country platforms to ensure proper division of labor and coordination. All these efforts should reflect the important links between human health, animal health/biodiversity and climate. →

The COVID-19 pandemic has required new kinds of alliances and different ways of assessing evidence and shaping policy.

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→ THE UNDERMINING OF THE EU’S RESPONSE Andrea Renda, CEPS

COVID-19 hit the European Union where it hurts most. Not surprisingly, the EU has shown a greater level of preparedness (and thus a greater ability to respond) in those areas in which it held stronger competences, such as economic policy, on the back of previous crisis management experiences in 2008/9 and 2011/12. In contrast, in domains such as health and social policy, Member States still retain strong competences and responsibilities. This feature of the EU multi-level governance explains why the Union managed to swiftly respond with a substantial economic stimulus programme (Next Generation EU); but could not avoid a patchy response to the health emergency. Despite significant efforts, the EU response to the pandemic was undermined by several factors, including the failure of science advice mechanisms at EU level, which translated into an inability to communicate with citizens and a generalized lack of attention for the socio-economic and behavioural impacts of the policy responses

to the pandemic.

When it comes to external action, similar problems emerged: compared to other domains, such as climate policy or data protection, the EU displays a much lower level of what we call ‘actorness’ in the health sector, which translates into a rather weak ability to influence global governance. Despite current attempts to strengthen the EU capacity to act, including the ‘Health Union’ and the expanded mandates for European agencies such as the ECDC and the EMA, the EU’s role as a rising actor in global health governance is still jeopardised by a proliferation of ‘north stars’ in public policy (resilience, sustainability, well-being, growth), which undermines policy coherence; a lack of courage in institutional reforms (as in the case of the proposed HERA); and the looming risk that the stimulus programme will widen, not reduce differences between Member States. In this latter respect, the EU now face a truly existential risk: rather than being ‘forged in crisis’, as Jean Monnet famously argued, this time the EU project risks being dramatically affected, and even dismantled in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

STATE CAPACITY Chris Dann and Tim Besley, LSE State capacity has many definitions, but most triangulate around the idea of government having the effective tools to implement a range of feasible policies that align with its goals. A frequent argument currently made by scholars and policymakers, reflected in the points made above, is that even the best-prepared countries performed poorly with regards to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and so state capacity is irrelevant to policy conversations.

However, we argue that this is a poor way of thinking about the debate on formal governments’ role. The Devil is in the details. Comparatively speaking, high state capacity countries have still done reasonably better in terms of excess mortality (normalised for population differences), by having a strong institutional structure to implement and experiment with a range of economic and public health policies. On the other hand, there is much greater variation in pandemic performance amongst low state capacity countries. And this further relates to norms and values which can complement the policies of the state: evidence suggests that countries with higher levels of interpersonal trust have fared better in terms of excess mortality.

Albeit too early to draw any concrete conclusions, we need to focus our research and policy on “where” to build new state capacities at different tiers of government, given that the externalities of pandemics are global regardless of whether the government response is centralised or local. Moreover, building trust in the state, and how policymakers do this, is another area that needs to be considered. Finally, whether state capacities are built around preparation versus prevention (i.e. “horizon scanning”) is another aspect of the state capacity debate governments will need to disentangle.

There is much greater variation in pandemic performance amongst low state capacity countries.

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SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES IN THE UK Nikita Simpson & Laura Bear, LSE The central conflict facing policymakers, the voluntary sector, and communities during the Covid-19 pandemic has been keeping safe from a virus that is transmitted interpersonally while also providing vital support to those in need. We draw on the findings from 12 months of ethnographic, participatory, and quantitative research, which has revealed that people have fallen back on their families, neighbourhoods and communities in order to navigate new challenges and burden. We call these networks of kinship and care within and between families, friends, and communities “social infrastructures” and argue that economic life and pandemic recovery relies on the strength of these foundational relations. All people rely on these social infrastructures, but socio-economically disadvantaged & minoritised groups rely more on these networks to get by. These networks are not just ‘out there’ to be tapped into, they are impacted by policies and socio-economic conditions. We know that, if policies don’t take social infrastructures into account, they can have unintended negative effects including, contravening values, appearing immoral, not making sense.

They can undermine coping mechanisms or intensify inequalities within them. They can create burdens— pushing some things that the state should be doing on to communities.

If they do take these into account then can build co-production, better distributive outcomes and legitimacy for policy. In the UK, local and rapid response initiatives saved lives as voluntary sector, religious organisations, and Community Champions built on these relations of care to encourage vaccine uptake.

These innovative social projects also helped people to grieve and recover from losses of life and livelihoods. We argue that both short- and long-term investment in these integrated social infrastructures is crucial for the post-Covid recovery in the UK.

THE ONE HEALTH FRAMEWORK Elin Pöllänen & Walter Osika, Karolinska Institute. Tim Allen, LSE Debate continues about the origins of COVID-19, and probably the answer will never be known in a way that satisfies everyone. Yet so much of the discussion sets aside the main issue about that the emergence of the pandemic. This is not primarily about what happened at a particular moment in a particular place.

It is the result of a widespread and pervasive trend. Many diseases that currently infect humans are zoonotic, meaning they have spread from animals to humans. Of course, that is not a new phenomenon, but – as Garrett’s The Coming Plague emphasised – the likelihood of it happening, and speed with which diseases spread has increasingly been accelerated by a range of factors including mass migration, overuse of antibiotics, and dramatic changes in ecological conditions linked to economic development and urbanisation, including deforestation and the increasing demand for animal protein. Outbreaks, such as those of HIV/AIDS, Ebola, SARS, and COVID-19 are going to become more common, and current efforts to stop them are known to be inadequate. There is now consensus that an increased understanding of issues at the human-animal-environmental interface is crucial to create sustainable societies and improve health outcomes.

This makes it imperative to take a more holistic perspective, encapsulated in a One Health framework. One Health is a multisectoral and transdisciplinary approach on multiple levels that acknowledges the interconnection between human, animal and ecosystem health. There are several ongoing COVID-19 initiatives with One Health, which all emphasize the need of the framework to ‘bounce forward better’ and prevent future pandemic outbreaks.

It seems like common sense, but it is easier said than done.

For One Health to be as efficient as needed in terms of policy implications and impact upstream, several gaps and imbalances within the concept need to be addressed, and solved. Currently, the concept is embedded in a highly anthropocentric context, where the environment and non-human animals

are viewed instrumentally as resources of exploitation for human health, a historical view still characterising most Westernized countries. Moreover, One Health enacted in collaborations and initiatives have lacked clarity in terms of specific direction, as well as transparency and accountability. Countering a low-level of understanding of One Health amongst professionals as well as policy makers and the public is a first step, but many steps will need to be taken quickly if future epidemics are to be avoided.

There is huge potential in a holistic approach, but entrenched interests continue to make difficult policy choices almost impossible. An overarching trajectory for PERISCOPE is to help persuade those with influence at all levels of governance – at least in Europe - to internalize a One Health perspective, and ‘move beyond’ the status quo, so that the concept can be operationalized in a way that makes needed systemic transformation more likely. At the moment, despite the evidence about epidemic proliferation, that seems like a big task. But crises are times of opportunity, and the COVID-19 catastrophe has arguably been the most serious public health failure in living memory. Adopting a One Health agenda is less a choice than a necessity. ◆

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Science and its Limits: Drawing on Lessons Learnt from African Health Crisis

By Dr Liz Storer & Dr Nikita Simpson

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COVID-19 decision making and planning, especially in high income countries, has relied on ‘scientific evidence’ – namely testing data which has fuelled policy based on epidemiological and statistical models. Yet, prior experience has indicated that the blind faith is purported objective health metrics has limited value in interpreting complex social responses to pandemics.

In high income countries with strong state capacity to collect and analyse testing, case and mortality data, this kind of quantitative epidemiological evidence has been the basis of policy decisions. Early on in the pandemic, data collection efforts focused on groups who were at increased risk of exposure such as essential workers; and on specific geographies or workplaces where outbreaks have occurred (Bear, James and Simpson et al. 2020). As the pandemic unfolded, efforts grew to focus on minoritised groups disproportionately impacted, such as Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups in Britain during the second wave (SAGE 2021). However, on its own, testing data could not capture or explain intersecting drivers of unequal and enduring transmission and mortality (Bear and Simpson, forthcoming).

Throughout the pandemic, we have lacked nuanced qualitative evidence as to how certain behaviours, social situations and spaces contribute to transmission (Bear and Simpson et al. 2021).

It is not only policy makers who have relied on such ‘scientific evidence’ to make decisions, but also the public.

Scientific data, as displayed in the media through graphs, maps and statistics, has been used by the public to anticipate and navigate the risk of Covid-19.

Research has revealed that such data takes on a life of its own as people interpret it against their own realities.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, such data has been used to blame and stigmatise certain groups for transmission and non-compliance (Bear and Simpson, forthcoming).

Wynn observes, “as people imagine [Covid-19’s] threat, they project their fears of a virus onto groups in society that they imagine are spreading it, people whose bodies or actions become

the visible face of an invisible pathogen” (2021: 1). Ethnographic studies of what happens in communities during epidemics reveal that people develop complex imaginations of authority and legitimacy often based on rumour or ‘people’s science’ (Parker et al. 2019).

Indeed, often the use of ‘scientific evidence’ is deployed to justify conspiracy theories and reinterpreted or twisted to spread misinformation.

Fortunately, there are important antecedents that we can take from prior health emergencies, especially across the African continent. We suggest that our significant understanding of social responses to HIV/AIDS, and more recently to the West African and Congolese Ebola epidemics, garnered through ethnographic work, has much to offer. We know from these health emergencies, that there is more than science to draw upon when we make decisions.

On the one hand, from these experiences, we know that understanding the prevalence of a virus, and ensuring compliance with public health measures are quite different things. Lipton’s (2017) study of burial rites in Freetown, Sierra Leone, shows how state guidelines around proper burial practices were negotiated to allow for correct and compassionate burials according to socio-cultural registers. Despite knowledge that Ebola was present, other factors came into play in citizen’s decision making to manage deaths of loved ones.

Other anthropologists – faced with resistance to Ebola control measures in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea – noted the need to understand citizens response in historical terms. Mistrust of the state, often linked to histories of conflict and colonialism, feed into a rejection of science and public health control (Fairhead 2016). To understand localities, we need to engage with contemporary and historical encounters with power and authority. Public health is not delivered in a vacuum, but rather is conditioned by groups everyday engagement with the state.

What is more, evidence shows that data usually reflect majority groups – often those registered citizens in capital cities. Populations living state

peripheries, in informal settlements or without documents may evade testing, survey and public health campaigns (Adams 2016). Some of the more insightful research from Ebola has occurred with these communities who constructed responses away from official scientific practice.

As Parker and colleagues noted in their analysis of the Ebola response in Mathane, Sierra Leone, people in crisis build their own ‘morally appropriate’ science. (Parker et al 2019). The authors documented how, in response to the absence of emergency health infrastructure in the area, Mathane residents improvised care derived from procedures at Ebola Treatment Centres in the forest, administering IV drips to those that were sick. In fear of the authorities, these practices occurred below the purview of the paramount chief. Whilst resisting formal responses in view of fear of authorities, Sierra Leoneans actively improvised efforts to contain Ebola, and care for the sick.

Further, scientific facts can have a ‘social life’, being drawn into popular

perceptions of risk. Whilst experts have suggested that an ‘infodemic’ runs parallel to epidemiological evidence, experiences of African epidemics have suggested that citizens respond to evolving evidence – released by decision makers - to protect communities against outside risk.

Evidence from the HIV/AIDS response in Uganda has shown how perceptions of infection reflected the concentration of testing in particular regions, and among particular social groups (Allen 2006). Whilst the focus on risk groups meant the spread of HIV/AIDS within the general population during the early years of the epidemic is not documented, it also fed into stigmatisations for particular ‘risk groups’.

Recent research on HIV/AIDS has also revealed the extent to which attention to measuring, funding and responding to health emergencies diverts attention from other important health priorities. Benton’s (2015) ‘HIV Exceptionalism’ describes how post-war Sierra Leone positioned →

To understand localities, we need to engage with contemporary and historical encounters with power and authority. Public health is not delivered in a vacuum, but rather is conditioned by groups everyday engagement with the state.

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→ itself within flows of global funds for HIV/AIDS, considered by donors to be the priority for African governments.

Adopting a similar emphasis, Crane (2013) describes how the HIV/AIDS epidemic facilitated the emergence of a global research infrastructure whereby Global North experts benefit from the extraction of data from African nations, perpetuating the unequal production of scientific knowledge.

Benton and Crane’s cautionary tales may be worth noting in the case of COVID-19 – which too has been understood globally to warrant an exceptional response. Yet, this has been an unequal one. It is worth noting that whilst many African countries possess deep knowledge of controlling epidemics – relating to HIV/AIDS and Ebola – as well as other outbreaks including plague, measles and smallpox which are not considered international priorities – funding inequities have meant that COVID-19 responses have been unable to incorporate this wisdom.

In most African countries, Covid-19 data collection has been an expression of the political and economic challenges, characterised by shortages in diagnostic tests, testing sites and laboratory facilities (Renzaho 2021). Accordingly, for much of 2021, international commentators contemplated the existence of a ‘silent epidemic’ running beneath officially recorded statistics.

(Houreld and Lewis 2020). By comparison to Europe, increasing death tolls throughout early 2021 received limited coverage. Thus many African governments – and citizens - have managed an exceptional disease without enjoying sufficient global funding for a response which protects health and livelihoods. ◆

About the authors DR LIZ STORER AND DR NIKITA SIMPSON are anthropologists at the London School of Economics. Together with Prof. Tim Allen and Prof. Laura Bear they are leading a program of ethnographic and policy research on multilevel governance during the Covid-19 and future pandemics as part of the PERISCOPE consortium.

The PERISCOPE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, under the Grant Agreement number 101016233.

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Durham: Duke University Press.

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Bear, Laura, Nikita Simpson, Caroline Bazambanza, Rebecca E. Bowers, Atiya Kamal, Anishka Gheewala Lohiya, Alice Pearson, Jordan Vieira, Connor Watt, Milena Wuerth. (2021) Social Infrastructures for the Post-Covid Recovery in the UK. London: LSE Monograph Bear, Laura, Deborah James, Nikita Simpson, Eileen Alexander, Jaskiran K. Bhogal, Rebecca E. Bowers, Fenella Cannell, Anishka Gheewala Lohiya, Insa Koch, Megan Laws, Johannes F. Lenhard, Nicholas J. Long, Alice Pearson, Farhan Samanani, Olivia Vicol, Jordan Vieira, Connor Watt, Milena Wuerth, Catherine Whittle, Teodor Zidaru-Bărbulescu (2020) A Right to Care: The Social Foundations of Recovery from Covid-19 London: LSE Monograph Bear, Laura and Nikita Simpson. (forthcoming) ‘Stigma as Public Secret: Reflections from the policy encounter in Covid-ravaged Britain’. Submission to Cultural Anthropology.

Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A. et al. The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Sci Rep 10, 16598 (2020). https://doi. org/10.1038/s41598-020-73510-5 Crane, J. 2013. Scrambling for Africa: AIDS, Expertise, and the Rise of American Global Health Science (Expertise: Cultures and Technologies of Knowledge). Cornell University Press.

Fairhead, J. 2016 Understanding Social Resistance to the Ebola Response in the Forest Region of the Republic of Guinea: An Anthropological Perspective. African Studies Review, 59(3), 7-31.

Goel A, Gupta L. Social Media in the Times of COVID-19.

J Clin Rheumatol. 2020;26(6):220-223. doi:10.1097/ RHU.0000000000001508 Houreld, K and Lewis, D. (2020), In Africa, lack of coronavirus data raises fears of ‘silent epidemic’, Reuters, July 8th 2020, online at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirusafrica-data-insigh-idUSKBN24910L J. Lipton, ‘Black’ and ‘white’ death: burials in a time of Ebola in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 23,4, 201, p. 801-819 Melissa Parker, Tommy Matthew Hanson, Ahmed Vandi, Lawrence Sao Babawo & Tim Allen (2019) Ebola and Public Authority: Saving Loved Ones in Sierra Leone, Medical Anthropology, 38:5, 440-454, DOI: 10.1080/01459740.2019.1609472

Funding inequities have meant that COVID-19 responses have been unable to incorporate this wisdom.

Renzaho, A.M. 2021 Challenges Associated With the Response to the Coronavirus Disease |(COVID-19) Pandemic in Africa— An African Diaspora Perspective, Risk Analysis, 41(5), 831-836 SAGE Ethnicity Sub-Group (2021a) Interpreting differential health outcomes among minority ethnic groups in wave 1 and 2 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/ system/uploads/attachment_data/file/976030/S1168_Ethnicity_ Subgroup_Wave_1_and_2_qual_comparison.pdf Wynne, L. (2021) ‘The Pandemic Imaginerie: Infectious Bodies and Military-Police Theater in Australia’ CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Vol. 36, Issue 3, pp. 350-359,

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Universities Take Coordinated Action to Address the Climate Crisis

By Annelise Riles & The University of Toronto and University of Edinburgh Presidential Delegates to the U7+ Alliance

Foreword Annelise Riles, Executive Director of the Northwestern Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Leader of the U7+ Alliance of World Universities Secretariat

The U7+ Alliance of World Universities is an alliance of leading universities in G7 nations and beyond dedicated to taking action collectively, in coordination with government leaders in the G7 and other multilateral institutions, to address the greatest global challenges. Challenges like the climate crisis transcend borders, sectors and disciplines, and universities can catalyze solutions—as sources of knowledge and also as convenors and coordinators, situated at the crossroads of generations and cultures.

Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, the U7+ Alliance declared its commitment to supporting the implementation of new and continuing climate goals. 29 universities around the world made specific commitments to coordinated action through research, education, and actions on our own physical campuses.

One of universities’ singular strengths as global actors is our ability to convene and elevate the voices of the next generation of global leaders.

At our 2021 U7+ Worldwide Student Forum, led by University College London in partnership with Northwestern University’s Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and the U7+ Student

Leaders Board, students representing 24 U7+ Alliance universities across 12 countries presented their university presidents with a set of recommendations on how institutions worldwide can bring an intergenerational perspective to address climate change.

In the coming year, the U7+ Alliance will intensify coordination with policymakers, industry leaders, and citizens in G20 nations and beyond.

As locally grounded but globally networked institutions, and as institutions oriented toward the future— in our research and our preparation of the next generation of leaders—we are eager to play our part in creating a more peaceful and sustainable world for generations to come.

U7+ Commitments to Climate Action University of Toronto and University of Edinburgh Presidential Delegates to the U7+ Alliance.

Two years ago, the U7+ Alliance committed to a set of principles regarding the role of universities in addressing a number of shared challenges. None of those challenges is greater or more urgent than the climate crisis, and we have a responsibility to take action accordingly.

Along with over 25 universities in the U7+ Alliance, the University of Toronto, the University of Edinburgh and Université PSL acted as champions to make measurable progress in this area. In particular, the U7+ committed to lead in addressing climate change and sustainability challenges through two specific actions, under a principled framework, set out as follows: GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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We recognize that our universities have a major role to play in addressing the environmental issues and challenges to sustainability such as climate change, biodiversity and energy transition.

This should include leading by example on our own campuses.

Action 1: Promoting that all students of our universities will have access to courses related to climate, biodiversity and sustainability.

Action 2: Improving energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions from 2018 levels by 2030, and at a minimum developing and publishing a specific target for this reduction by 2020.

On each of these action items members of U7+ have shared best practices and learned from one another successes. This dialogue has enabled U7+ members to develop practical recommendations for action that take into consideration the different stages that universities across the U7+ Alliance are at in developing policies and implementing plans related to climate change and sustainability.

There is an understanding that universities producing internationally significant research and innovation will undoubtedly have carbon footprints, but they must be responsible for how these are addressed, how these are measured, and how these are offset. Universities must do better, and we believe that the power of collective action, as embodied by the U7+ Alliance, can enable this.

At the U7+ Presidential Summit in 2021, held a week in advance of COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference, Professor Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto, and Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, invited all members of U7+ to renew their commitment to addressing climate change and sustainability and to commit to an ambitious and necessary plan of action, laid out in the statement below. These recommendations were adopted by 29 U7+ members representing universities in North America, Asia, and Africa, including all who were present at the October 2021 Presidential Summit.

U7+ Statement on Climate Change and Sustainability The U7+ Alliance of universities recognizes that climate change is a global challenge that presents serious threats to natural environments, human health, security, and economic stability. Increases in global temperature, sea level rise, and ocean acidification have heightened the risk of biodiversity loss, extreme weather events, and water scarcity.

Social impacts vary widely, but the climate crisis will continue to disproportionately affect disadvantaged and vulnerable communities through climate displacement, lost livelihoods, food insecurity, and adverse health impacts. The inequities raised by the climate crisis have a strong intergenerational component and future generations will bear a disproportionate share of its burden and consequences.

We recognize that actions taken now will determine the lives of young people far into the future.

U7+ members welcome the opportunity to contribute alongside other global actors to protect our planet and ensure a greener, more resilient future for everyone. We are committed to work through collaborative partnerships with our respective governments, private sector, and civil society organizations, to support the implementation of the goals to be set at the UNFCCC COP26.

The U7+ Alliance reaffirms its commitment to Principle 3, Actions 1 and 2, which were agreed to during our first summit in Paris on July 9-10, 2019. We call on all U7+ members to ensure that students have access to sustainability courses, and to commit to ambitious climate change action plans and targets to reduce and offset those GHG emissions associated with their operations that they have the ability to control.

We endorse the implementation frameworks developed by the Principle 3 Working Groups and commit to adopting the following recommendations at our respective institutions: For Action 1: promoting that all students of our universities will have access to courses related to climate, biodiversity, and sustainability.

• Recognize and validate the importance of course inventories to take stock of existing courses with sustainabilityrelated content. Make the findings of these inventories a more accessible resource for the student body.

• Develop sustainability pathways - clusters of courses and co-curricular activities with a common theme of sustainability that allow students to explore the theme from various disciplinary, methodological, and practical perspectives.

• Engage students in discussions on sustainability education by facilitating and structuring consultations that recognize the diversity of perspectives and needs.

For Action 2: reducing GHG emissions from 2018 levels by 2030, with the goal of developing and publishing a specific target for this reduction.

• Measure scope 1 (owned sources) and 2 (purchased electricity, heat and steam) GHG emissions using standards tools and collect information and feedback on existing targets/plans relating to energy and GHG emissions. Universities who do not own their capital stock should engage facility owners about developing measurements and plans.

• Benchmark energy consumption and GHG emissions to determine where opportunities for improvement exist.

• Commit, or work with facility owners to commit, to energy and GHG reduction targets and publish plans to meet these targets.

• Review and evaluate the performance to determine whether the targets were achieved and communicate the results to stakeholders.

• Begin developing approaches to estimating, benchmarking, and ultimately addressing Scope 3 emissions, such as business travel, employee commuting, waste disposal, purchased goods and services.

We recognize that as an Alliance that spans six continents and 17 countries, our universities are at various stages of action on climate change, but that we have an opportunity to share knowledge and experience to meet a common goal. ◆ 83

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W V I RT U A L E V E N T P L AT F O R M B R A N D E D S T O RY

More Power to Your Events Kestone, a leading and award-winning global data-driven integrated sales and marketing services company, founded in 1997, has been on an upward trajectory since the launch of its entirely home-grown, experiential “virtual platform” and moving towards becoming one of the leading MarTech organization. Though the technical and research team of the organization have been working on the minute details of platform from quite some time, the launch of the product in the larger market coincided with the pandemic.

But this acted as a point of differentiation since lot of business suddenly lost their ground and the platform came to the rescue as a viable and effective tool for business continuity. Replicating every element of an offline events experience, Kestone virtual event platform

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emerged as a one-stop solution for businesses to collaborate, communicate and grow across continents.

With a strong presence in the US along with a considerable market share in the Asia Pacific and Middle East, Kestone’s foray into the advanced tech-enabled virtualization business has been an icing on the cake, garnering positive response from some of the biggest Fortune 500 Companies and winning awards like ACEF Global Customer Engagement Awards in 2018, 2019 & 2020, WOW Awards, Lighthouse Insights Best Mobile Marketing 2018, and Marketing Excellence Awards 2017 among other accolades. Some of the longestserving clients for Kestone has been Dell, Cisco, Google, SAP and has strategized & executed several

programs/campaigns for 500+ organizations including Microsoft, AWS, CBRE, Nucleus, AON, Edcast, Canada Post, Britannia, Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS) among others.

The organization achieved another milestone and added more muscle to the virtual platform with VIRSA – a one of its kind AI powered Virtual Event Smart Assistance whose intelligent make and analytic capability increases average audience engagement time at virtual events by multi-fold. Designed exclusively to interpret data right from the registration process, VIRSA with AI driven algorithms can not only provide personalized recommendations to the event organizer about content choice and sessions topics assessing the attendees’ business profile for improved event strategy, but also is fully empowered to filter and recommend sessions, resources, and indicative business contacts for interaction for the attendee once he/she logs in. Discovering relevant content, speakers and sessions and connecting to peers and business

leads will be easier. Another great feature of VIRSA is speech-text conversion, known as Virsa Notes.

VIRSA listens to all the sessions and takes a note of every aspect of the deliberation. So, in-case anyone misses a particular session, Virsa will convert that session into text with 85% accuracy.

The cumulative result of these innovation helped the organization to quickly scale-up and carve a niche for itself in just less than 2 years. This is evident from the sheer volume of content delivered over 1000+ event days, generating over $2 million revenues in just 18 months. Through personalized and highly customized targeted engagements, Kestone catered to diverse industries, giving voice, and offering holistic strategies to businesses to solve their pressing marketing and sales challenges.

One such fine example of a successful campaign which the organization executed was for the global IT giant Cisco. Known as Cisco IoT Connect 2021, the event was Cisco’s first ever global, digital

partner conference for IoT and it was managed end to end on Kestone virtual event platform, for an extensive audience across USA, EMEAR and APJC. As a virtual event partner, Kestone enabled the client to showcase their IoT vision for the future and how they will push the boundaries of what is possible for the customers, while helping Cisco and their partners build a profitable IoT practice. The result was achieved through a comprehensive virtual engagement strategy and curation of insightful sessions, offering the latest in product innovation, industry use-cases and strategic differentiation to build Cisco’s IoT practice.

Engagements of similar intensity, both in terms of quality and value creation was done for Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS) - a global advisor, thought leader and member association committed to transforming the health ecosystem, with focused operations across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. This virtual campaign was special as it enabled deliberation on one of the most crucial subjects in these timesHealthcare Information & Management.

The key deliverable was to host the entire initiative on Kestone virtual event platform and create seamless experiences to support deliberation on the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology. The 2-day virtual event

As a hybrid event partner for one of the most crucial summits of the year, Kestone took care of the minute details in the planning stage itself.

was studded with 53+ immersive virtual sessions, saw over 500+ attendees and brought together key stakeholders from Government, Statutory Bodies, Healthcare IT, Life Sciences and Medical Device industry for path-breaking collaborative discussions on healthcare IT issues, best practices and the latest tools & technologies that will drive and enhance the new age healthcare delivery and outcomes.

Another event which established Kestone’s reputation as a global virtual event platform with multilingual capability was Think Ecomm for Canada Post. Apart from other upgrades in the features, this update enabled the organization to curate content in both English & Canadian French so that the attendees can consume content LIVE across Canada with absolute ease. With awesome 3D virtual environments and multiple virtual breakout sessions, the event saw over 600 registrations and 300+ English and French speaking attendees.

While talking about the success stories, it is worth mentioning that Kestone left no stone unturned when the virtual imperatives evolved and gave birth to hybrid. Creating a seamless experience for the hybrid edition of Middle East Banking AI & Analytics Summit is one such example.

As a hybrid event partner for one of the most crucial summits of the year, Kestone took care of the minute details in the planning stage itself. To help the client create conversations and networking opportunities to address their most pressing issues, Kestone leveraged the platform’s real-time collaboration capabilities and further added value with state-of the art booths and an integrated networking centre. Over 2 days of extensive deliberation, the event saw an attendance of 250+ senior level executives and decision makers from the banking and financial industry.

Recently Kestone hosted one of the biggest pre-placements meets organised by a fortune 500 company, headquartered in the US. A total of 5 events took place in a span of 3 days with 30,000 attendees in each event and a total of 150,000 attendees. ◆ 97

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How the Business Sector Fosters Trust to Lead COVID-19 Recovery

By Anna Kompanek and Andrew Wilson

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As countries reopen and adjust to the next normal after COVID-19, shoring up societal trust and trust in democratic and market institutions will be crucial to success. People need to know they can count on governments to create the right policy environments for recovery and protect them if the virus flares back up or another crisis hits. They also need to know they can trust the companies they are working for and doing business with.

On that point, at least, business is in good place coming out of the pandemic.

The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer (the annual survey on public trust in business, government, NGOs, and media conducted globally with more than 30,000 respondents) “shows that business is not only the most trusted institution among the four studied, but it is also the only trusted institution with a 61% trust level globally, and the only institution seen as both ethical and competent.” Swift business responses to COVID-19, from pharmaceutical companies developing the vaccine telework and creating safe workplaces, can be in large part credited for this high level of trust. In particular, people seem to trust their employers: Edelman finds 76% do, far ahead of the 61% who trust “business” in general. →

Purposeful private sector leadership is imperative to further build on trust in business and strengthen social trust in democratic and market institutions.

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→ This show of confidence gives businesses a unique opportunity to play a constructive role in shaping the post-pandemic recovery. Purposeful private sector leadership is imperative to further build on trust in business and strengthen social trust in democratic and market institutions. Companies around the world can achieve that goal through responsible and ethical conduct and operations, support for local communities, and public-private policy dialogue, as well as partnerships to shape what the next normal will look like.

Cooperation and Systemic Integrity If businesses act both individually and together, they can help rebuild out of this crisis. An important way they can cooperate is through representative business membership organizations: chambers of commerce, associations, trade groups, and professional societies.

Business groups in Ukraine, Lebanon, Kenya, Venezuela, and the U.S. are among those that have submitted COVID-19 response policy proposals and donated services to their governments and communities.

To maintain and further enhance societal trust post-pandemic, businesses must embrace good governance and transparency in their own operations and promote systemic integrity that safeguards a level playing field and an inclusive business environment. Many are already signing on to programs such as the Ethics 1st initiative just launched in Africa. It is a network of businesses with a shared set of compliance requirements and best practices, including anti-corruption measures. This project is attracting the attention of investors and larger multinational companies looking for partners they can trust.

Extending the Reach Business alone cannot fix everything.

However, companies of all sizes in all geographies must embrace their leadership role and work with stakeholders to drive change and capitalize on the trust the public has placed in them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation offers another example of how the private sector and civil society can collaborate. Through GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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means in practice may become politicized. Businesses will have to be careful not to get too far ahead of public opinion on controversial issues, but also be careful not to lag. On various social issues in the United States and globally, businesses are already learning how to draw the line between civic engagement and political overreach. These lessons will be important as more businesses step into market leadership roles.

Once trust is established, it can build on itself and grow quickly. People return to the same restaurants, banks, and gas stations over and over because they trust the product and service. its Civics Forward series, it brings together business leaders, educators, and government officials to examine the future of civic education, engagement, and discourse in America. That is helping prepare rising generations to be responsible citizens of a democracy.

The need to reinvigorate the engagement between key societal stakeholders points back to the issue of trust: democracy and markets can only succeed when they can be trusted to be transparent, inclusive, and representative. Of course, what that

Key Moment for Business As governments are looking to the private sector for solutions to deliver post-pandemic recovery, industries and business associations have a chance to come together and offer constructive input into policy priorities. To help their communities, businesses must be good citizens, providing jobs and economic opportunities while respecting rights and responsibilities.

Once trust is established, it can build on itself and grow quickly. People return to the same restaurants, banks, and gas stations over and over because they trust the product and service.

That makes this a key moment for businesses. By doing good, businesses can do well. They can build more trust, contributing to more robust economies as well as stronger democracies worldwide. ◆

About the author ANNA KOMPANEK is the Director for Global Programs at the Center for International Private Enterprise. She manages a portfolio of programs in emerging markets that incorporate the organization’s core themes: democratic governance, business advocacy, strengthening entrepreneurship ecosystems, anti-corruption, and women’s economic empowerment.

About the author ANDREW WILSON is the Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), headquartered in Washington, DC. CIPE is home to the Trade Lab, a center of excellence specializing in trade issues. CIPE also jointly leads the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation with the International Chamber of Commerce, and the World Economic Forum. Wilson has extensive experience working with the private sector on development issues in conflict and post-conflict settings, crafting successful business strategies to reduce corruption, encouraging entrepreneurship development, strengthening business advocacy, improving corporate governance standards, and promoting economic reform.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W FOOD SYSTEMS

To Truly Transform the Food Look to Ecuador On this World Food Day, to achieve food security for vulnerable populations, we look to Ecuador for what it means to truly transform the food system.

By Rosa Rodriguez

Photography: Isadora Romero. Heifer International.

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Food at its core

System,

is a simple concept. It is the world’s literal lifeblood and it connects people both to each other and back to our planet. Yet, prior to the pandemic, food distribution had become so complicated it was no longer serving the very people who produce it.

In Ecuador a sustainable living income, or the amount of money each person in a household needs per day to live a dignified life, is $5.26 in the highlands and $5.36 on the coast.

But many farmers in Ecuador make less than $4.00 daily, limiting their purchasing capacity of nutritious food, clean water, shelter, health care, and education.

The global pandemic was a wakeup call that our food system wasn’t working. It showed that along with the work, sometimes our goals and expectations must change at a moment’s notice. What we have seen in the last year is that progress cannot only be easily thwarted, but easily reversed.

Real change takes perseverance. It also takes a lot of people to buy into a concept; presently one the international community continues to tout: build back better. To do this, we must work together to define and achieve what “better” really means.

Current food supply chains force producers into a position of dependence.

Products pass through several intermediaries, with the first paying farmers a minimum price because they then go through at least three additional intermediaries. →

In Ecuador a sustainable living income, or the amount of money each person in a household needs per day to live a dignified life, is $5.26 in the highlands and $5.36 on the coast.

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→ In Ecuador, to sell in a supermarket where most food is purchased, farmers must produce a high volume of product and deliver to one of only two national collection centers. If they are even able to reach the drop off location, farmers still don’t receive payment for their products for three months, making the task of reaching consumers highly unsustainable, if not unattainable.

Prior to the pandemic, local producers could sell their products directly to consumers at fairs and open-air marketplaces. However, once markets closed due to quarantine restrictions, only large supermarkets were allowed to stay open. This presented an additional obstacle for small-scale farmers to sell food that would quickly go to waste.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I received a call from the mayor of the Municipality of Quito, seeking help in keeping people at home by keeping them fed, particularly in four of the most vulnerable neighborhoods with the highest rates of COVID-19.

The relationships we had built with local farmers, businesses and governments succeeded in bringing together the right people when we needed them most—taking a crisis and turning it into an opportunity.

With quarantine restrictions, farmers could no longer offer their produce in open-air marketplaces and fairs, threatening their only source of income. For everyone’s safety, community members were required to stay indoors creating yet another obstacle, and fresh produce began to stockpile, which would go to waste if it did not reach consumers.

To address immediate food insecurity and waste, we accelerated initiatives within the Future of Food program.

Launched in 2019 and supported by Heifer International, the Future of Food program aggregates agroecological produce from local, small-scale farms and delivers it directly to families, aiming to enable thousands of smallscale farming families to reach a sustainable living income.

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delivered directly to families by urban groups on bicycles or rented pick-up trucks throughout the capital. Food suppliers connected to food distributors created an interlocking food network improving food access. This one-of-akind naturally produced delivery food system helped Ecuador establish an infrastructure to continue reducing the income gap of smallholder farmers, in addition to bolstering solidarity amongst communities and strengthening the relationship between consumers and producers.

To date, prepared food baskets have reached more than 9,300 families in the cities of Quito, Cuenca, Santa Elena and Machala, Guayaquil. Heifer Ecuador supports a similar program on the Galapagos Island of San Cristóbal, a UNESCO Natural Heritage site, where sales during the pandemic reached approximately $10,000 USD monthly.

The program overall generates nearly $52,000 monthly, and there are plans to continue expanding.

Building on the success of the distribution network, four farmers cooperatives of 400 mainly women small-scale farmers came together

to create the first farmer-owned online marketplace. In addition to fresh produce, the online food market allows farmers to sell more than 60 regionally sourced products, including nutrient rich crab-shell based flour produced for balanced meals, instant banana flour, and flavored ice cream products promoting regional flavors such as ishpingo, cherimoya, mortiño, agave, uvilla, and wild blackberry that have never before been commercialized.

Still, working on the production side can only go so far. We must continue to educate consumers to understand that when they buy food, they are making a choice. They are choosing healthy food for their families, as well as who benefits from where they buy their food.

While a lot of progress has been made, food insecurity and malnutrition persist. Ecuador has Latin America’s second-highest percentage of chronic malnutrition in children under five.

One in four children in the country is malnourished and the figures are even higher for Indigenous communities, with as many as 62% of children undernourished in subdivisions like Guano, where there is a large Indigenous population.

The COVID-19 Pandemic made the concept of food insecurity tangible to members of society who had not always confronted this issue at home.

As countries around the world continue to suffer the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s World Food Day calls for global solidarity to help the most vulnerable people recover, make food systems more sustainable and resilient, and honor heroes like the farmers who grow the food we need.

Local farmers who were once overlooked by urban populations are now recognized as frontline works, heroes of society who are vital to a functioning food system. But to build back better, recognition is not enough.

The food system we are building is one of abundance, which means it must continue to provide access to food— healthy, nutritious food—for everyone, especially poor people. ◆

About the author ROSA RODRIGUEZ is Ecuador Country Director for Heifer International.

The new genius is a collaborative genius

At Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, we believe that relationships among individuals and institutions—globally and locally—are what generate new knowledge that sparks solutions to global challenges.

Learn more at buffett.northwestern.edu.

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W CHINA

Evergrande Crisis: Cracks in China’s Growth Strategy

By Richard Rousseau

The ‘managed’ collapse of the Evergrande real estate company is a precarious balancing act for China’s leaders. On the one hand, rushing to the help of the struggling behemoth sends a message that businesses in a similar situation will not be dumped despite their huge debt.

This extends the strategy of viewing GDP growth as the ultimate aim for the Chinese leadership—at the expense of a potentially dangerous debt ratio for many enterprises. On the other hand, if Evergrande is made an example of and the government refuses to assist the business, a domino effect might occur, sending the markets into even greater upheaval than in recent weeks.

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For many years, the Chinese economy’s overarching purpose has been to satisfy government defined GDP growth targets. It has made little difference whether specific sectors of the economy or businesses are profitable, or whether construction projects provide significant economic advantages. What counts is whether or not there is economic growth, productivity, and debt. Even non-viable zombie businesses are kept going by the government.

This economic approach has resulted in a massive real estate bubble, which is currently revealing itself all too plainly in the instance of Evergrande. Its origins can be traced back to 2008.

The global financial crisis of that year not only had a significant impact on developed countries, but it also had a significant impact on Chinese economic performance. The Chinese government attempted to combat this by introducing major economic stimulus packages and making borrowing easier.

As a result, land value increased and the residential construction industry became more appealing. This fueled rapid development activity by real estate developers like Evergrande, whose business strategy was predicated on large debt. Evergrande had not only taken out big bank loans, it had also sold many residential units to customers months, if not years,

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W CHINA

For many years, the Chinese economy’s overarching purpose has been to satisfy government defined GDP growth targets.

before completion, collecting hefty advance payments and, in some cases, the full amount. Subcontractors, on the other hand, were not paid in cash, resulting in the accumulation of large receivables from subcontracting companies over time.

The collapse of the real estate giant now poses a threat to other industries.

Evergrande’s bankruptcy would also result in the layoff of around three million of the company’s employees, as well as the loss of roughly two million property buyers’ down payments on unfinished homes. Built on an everincreasing pile of debt, the real estate sector has grown to be a major, if not the most prominent, industry. The

industry accounts for around 25% of China’s GDP. Simultaneously, the vacancy rate for houses and flats has reached all-time highs. It is estimated that 20 to 25% of all residences in China’s major cities are empty.

To address the rising dangers, in January the government established three red lines for real estate developers.

First, the liabilities to assets ratio must not exceed 70%. Second, the net gearing ratio must not exceed 100%. And third, the ratio of liquid assets to current obligations cannot be less than one.

This was designed to reduce the real estate sector’s expanding indebtedness on the one hand, and to combat the speculative mania of real estate

developers on the other. The latter, however, has continued to act entirely undisturbed for most of 2021.

This new policy is likely to succeed because China’s political system prides itself on not allowing any ambiguity in government processes. In the long run, this would restore market stability, even if Evergrande would face unpleasant distortions in the short term due to its connections with banks, suppliers, and other institutions in China’s credit markets.

Only by removing unproductive activities from national accounts at the expense of GDP growth would China be closer to realistic growth targets. As a result, it will be interesting to observe whatever path the government adopts in the following weeks. At the moment, stabilizing the situation appears to be the most likely path. Government officials may easily exert pressure on bankers and creditors to extend loans to Evergrande. However, in order to address the debt issue genuinely, Beijing will need to adopt more drastic measures.

A worldwide catastrophe on the scale of the one that occurred in 2008-2009, when the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers precipitated a wave of insolvencies, seems unlikely. Not only because Evergrande conducts 90% of its operations in China, but also because the Chinese financial system remains highly closed, excluding a substantial number of foreign creditors. ◆

About the author RICHARD ROUSSEAU, Ph.D., is an international relations expert. He was formerly a professor and head of political science departments at universities in Canada, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and the United Arab Emirates. His research interests include the former Soviet Union, international security, international political economy, and globalization.

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How people like you and me can help rebuild health systems

By Daniella Foster

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT H E A LT H

One of the most eye-opening transformations that happened during COVID-19 was the increased role of health ownership.

Before the pandemic, most people didn’t put the same stock in the care we give ourselves at home to prevent and treat illness. But the pandemic empowered people. The extreme circumstances have shown that people can take more control over their personal health.

But they need to be given the right information and access to do this properly.

Helping people understand how they can prevent disease and proactively take care of themselves is one of the key ways we can rebuild health systems. The Center for Workforce Health and Performance in the U.S. believes that if people took care of more of their healthcare needs at home, this could result in $45 billion saved from unneeded doctors’ visits, among other costs. It would also result in an additional 130 million more days worked, which also means more money in someone’s pocket.

Other countries have similar statistics.

Embed Self-Care into Public Policy In conjunction with the World Health Organization, The Global Self-Care Federation* just launched the Self-Care Readiness Index to help countries better understand and create actionable plans against the four key enablers of selfcare: stakeholder support and adoption, consumer and patient empowerment, health policy, and the regulatory environment. In assessing personal health practices and policies across 10 countries, several key themes emerged.

First, self-care legislation is common, but disjointed. Numerous government strategies, plans, and programs touch on self-care, but few call it by name or paint a coherent policy vision.

Policies should look at new approaches to behavior change when they are determining future investments in health promotion, prevention, and self-care initiatives. We need to develop a “whole government” approach to self-care. Think multiple arms of government working together to both educate and embed habits—similar to what we saw when it came to hygiene, social distancing, and vaccination through COVID-19, but a sustained effort. →

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One of the ways we can help people take better care of themselves is to rethink where health happens. We’re seeing this happen more and more but we need to continue to think of healthcare outside of clinics, doctors’ offices, and hospitals

→ Governments don’t need to work alone on this. The collective action developed through multi-stakeholder partnerships—bringing together the private and public sector—can create an even bigger impact.

Empower People with Information The second key theme within the Self-Care Readiness Index is that individual empowerment hinges on continued efforts to boost health literacy, having credible, consistent sources of information that’s aligned with healthcare providers. Education is an often-overlooked aspect of healthcare, but it is critical. Consider the concerted effort behind the COVID-19 handwashing best practices.

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always accurate or beneficial. This needs to change. In order for people to feel empowered, they need to be confident in their ability to take the right actions.

These programs don’t need to be complicated, but they do need to be targeted to ensure they are reaching people where they are and how they are most receptive to information.

Rethink Where Health Happens One of the ways we can help people take better care of themselves is to rethink where health happens. We’re seeing this happen more and more but we need to continue to think of healthcare outside of clinics, doctors’ offices, and hospitals.

It needs to happen in homes, pharmacies, grocery stores, and online—where patients actually are in their daily lives.

There’s still value in traditional healthcare settings, but in many

communities, especially underserved ones, people have more access to the local store than a traditional healthcare provider. Services facilitated by a pharmacist or in-store healthcare provider can often be more affordable and offer 360 solutions—people can get healthcare provider-endorsed recommendations for how to take care of themselves, get prescriptions, and shop for over-the-counter solutions all in one place. In order for this to be successful, policies also need to change to enable access to medical records and the ability to make referrals.

There’s also opportunity for the expansion of digital health. The pandemic certainly encouraged telehealth, but in order to help create health ownership, this should be expanded to other health services.

We’ve already started to see a patient’s home becoming the primary site for medical services. We’ll see this centered on at-home medical devices. For example, diabetes is a chronic condition that currently can be monitored with the help of digital remote-monitoring tools like glucose monitors and activity trackers. A patient can sync their devices to track progress, check their health data in real time, send and receive messages from a nurse, and share progress with their doctor. This helps address long periods of ongoing care and allows people to take control of their health.

It’s Up to Us In order to rebuild health systems, people need to be empowered to take care of their personal health. It requires the leadership of multiple stakeholders collaborating to do it well, but if we can arm communities with the tools to take health ownership, we can make a huge impact. Not only can we rebuild health systems, but at the end of the day, this approach will help all people lead better lives because they are healthy enough to enjoy them. ◆ About the author DANIELLA FOSTER is Global Vice President and Head of Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability for Bayer’s Consumer Health division.

*Disclosure: Bayer is a member of the Global Self-Care Federation and helped develop the Self-Care Readiness Index.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W DEBT CRISIS

G20 Must Help Low Income Countries Get Out of Debt Crisis

By Joël Ruet

As countries continue to emerge from lockdowns and international travel restrictions are eased, it may seem that the world has learned to live with Covid and is beginning to recover from the pandemic’s devastating effects. But the economic recovery from the pandemic is uneven. As G20 Finance Ministers convened in Washington DC this week they must resolve to step up efforts that will prevent low-income economies across the globe collapsing in what would be a devastating blow to the global economy.

Uneven recovery threatens to undo decades of progress COVID-19 is nowhere near subsiding in the developing world and post-covid

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recovery is not as fast or as robust as in developed economies. Declined exports, plummeting revenues, and capital flight have left many countries struggling to pay off their debts. Even after the IMF’s historic $650 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation, rising poverty and squeezed budgets for health, education, and social safety nets can make some states are unable to prioritize the lives of vulnerable people before their debt obligations.

After a few decades of unmatched progress in human and economic development, we are on the brink of very possible unparalleled reversals.

If unsustainable debt in Zambia, Chad, Ethiopia, and other states is not addressed, we could see tangible decreases in quality of healthcare

and education, volumes of capital expenditure and investment in economic development, which would lead to decades of lost opportunities for generations and sluggish—if any— growth for economies.

Take Zambia, whose external public debt amounts to almost $14.5bn that is 76% of GDP and total public debt amounts to $21bn—around 110% of GDP. This is clearly an unsustainable level of debt for a low-income economy.

Zambia spends nearly double as much on debt servicing than on its health sector. Instead of finding solutions to support low-income countries return to debt sustainability, the G20 ministers’ discussion is mostly centered around Zambia’s debt to Chinese creditors.

By different estimates Zambia owes

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W DEBT CRISIS

China-related creditors between $3bn and $6.6bn which means the rest of the $14.5bn is owed to non-Chinese lenders.

What we really should be talking about is how to provide debt relief to highly indebted countries like Zambia, find ways to work with China, and in reverse get China to work in strong cooperation with other lenders to ensure a comprehensive debt treatment package is agreed.

What the world financial powers could do to help We cannot afford to lose a decade of development in countries like Zambia.

Global recovery is only possible if it means recovery for all. There are four steps the global community could make to ensure highly indebted countries do not see reversals in development and embark on a solid path to recovery and growth: 1) step up multilateral support, 2) provide comprehensive debt relief, 3) reallocate SDRs, and 4) support the private banking sector in Africa.

COVID-19 has caused some unprecedented changes in the thinking of multilaterals. In particular, the IMF has seemingly moved away from their austerity obsession and prioritized development and poverty reduction as sensible objectives. Stepping up support with reasonable conditions for highly indebted countries is a priority for the international and regional financial and development organizations.

Providing comprehensive, wellbalanced debt relief is another priority.

Here, the focus should be to find the right mix between deferring payments like the DSSI framework and granting debt relief, targeting a good combination of easing public finance, and continued trust for lenders, as decades of debt restructuring has taught us.

We cannot afford to lose a decade of development in countries like Zambia. Global recovery is only possible if it means recovery for all.

There are several levers concerned, that should coordinate, if not merge The G20 Common Framework was created specifically for that purpose but has yet to prove effective. G20 Finance Ministers must find solutions when they convene this week to bring private creditors into the framework with the aim of speeding up and making debt relief efforts by bilateral partners and the Paris Club more efficient.

Rich and large economies could further boost support by reallocating some of the SDRs they received as part of the recent IMF SDRs allocation.

This would provide the much-needed breathing space for the highly indebted countries by easing liquidity challenges.

Finally, the transformation of African economies depends on a well-functioning banking system.

Commercial banks in Africa, and Zambia in particular, have continued to work and be profitable despite sovereign defaults. Bilateral partners should work out frameworks for supporting the banks and correcting market defaults, largely infused by global rating agencies. Commercial banks in Africa and are showing the discipline and transparency requested from the government and its lenders.

Tackling structural problems domestically and internationally remains a priority At the same time, Zambia needs to make sure its own house is in order.

After the inspiring victory of democracy in the country during the presidential elections, the new administration has a unique mandate to change the development dynamic and put Zambia on a new path to sustainable recovery and growth.

It is encouraging to see that the new government declared securing an IMF programme as a priority.

The programme will enable Zambia to kickstart an active phase of debt restructuring talks with the country’s creditors and aim to support Zambia’s reform agenda.

In the meantime, Zambia’s authorities need to change the perception of non-transparency around its debt situation. Domestically this is a

question of accountability the government owes to its citizens. For international audiences this is about continued engagement with creditors on an equitable basis and regular and robust debt reporting.

Addressing the issue of the so-called hidden Chinese debt would also boost transparency and credibility. Currently, Zambia reports its debt in an aggregate form across three main categories of creditors: multilateral, bilateral, and commercial and spread over categories of debtors: central government, government guaranteed debt, and SOEs non-guaranteed debt, which is a customary practice among sovereigns.

Zambia, as many countries who borrowed from China, is limited by non-disclosure clauses in how open it can be about specific creditors, loan agreements terms, and other details.

However, there are ways to ensure future borrowing is more sustainable by ensuring parliamentary oversight and parliamentary requirement of loan agreements disclosure.

Now is the time to address the issue of unsustainable debt in poor economies before a new unthinkable challenge hits the world—be that a new winter wave of COVID-19, surging energy prices, climate change, a global financial crisis, or a demise of multilateralism. By ensuring a robust global recovery now we are making the world stronger for all. ◆

About the author DR. JOËL RUET is an economist and a renowned specialist on China, India, Africa, and East Asia in the European Union. He is the Founder and Chairman of the G20 Think Tank Member the Bridge Tank. He has done numerous research projects on emerging economies for European governments and international research institutions, including universities in China.

Dr. Ruet advised the government of Senegal and helped produce the National Strategy for Economic and Social Development. He also advised the government of India on multiple projects. Since 2000 he has directed economic research teams in various capacities with either a pluri-disciplinary or a multi-cultural (or both) composition. Dr. Ruet advises Fortune 500 companies and private equity funds on their activities in India, China, and Africa. He has conducted research projects for AFD, WB, the Japanese cooperation (JBIC), and the European Commission. He has filed or directed more than 50 strategic reports.

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Building a Prosperous Future in Africa

By Peter Varndell & Terrence Mutuswa

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The championing of global shared values has never been more important than in these current times. It is incumbent on all citizens of the world to actively participate in the building of a prosperous future based on universal freedoms and equitable economic gains. In a world where developing economies still struggle to catch up, fair trade and global partnerships must become the ideal we strive for.

The good news is that Africa is bouncing back from the impact of COVID-19. Through a balancing act between cautious measures to manage the pandemic and aggressive strategies to boost economic activities, most

countries are now able to survive in the ‘new normal’.

Africa is rapidly adapting the industrialisation of the continent in alignment with global goals of green energy, climate change and the development more localised market (intra-African trade). The key is creating critical linkages between government and business and making these relationships the linchpins for economic development.

At the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) we specifically seek to accelerate programmes and projects where there is an intersection of interest between public and private sector stakeholders.

These initiatives include African

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W N E PA D B U S I N E S S F O U N D AT I O N

development masterplans such as those of the African Union (AU), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), SADC and the South African National Development Plans.

The NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2004 in order to mobilise private sector resources in support of government endorsed initiatives.

Our objective is to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Africa and we focus on interventions in infrastructure, industrial value chains and trade facilitation. We strongly believe that making these mega-projects happen will fundamentally change the lives of our fellow African people.

Our unique project execution model is built around being agile in order to respond to the varied and specific needs of project sponsors to implement their projects. Our role is to act as neutral facilitators/ programme managers and we actively look to collaborate with relevant partners wherever possible.

Typically, NBF funding is sourced from corporates with an aligned vision to promote Africa’s economic development and we leverage our relationships with donors and DFIs in order to fund specific project work.

The NBF provides value in two primary ways: firstly, through our Project Management Unit model where we have the demonstrated capacity to successfully develop and implement programmes; secondly, where required, we also act as Host for other programmes and initiatives where the NBF has a proven track record of managing multi-donor funds as well as having significant convening power.

We are extremely proud of the NBF and its diverse programmes that continue to deliver remarkable results. These programmes include: • The North-South Rail Corridor Project which is focused on the optimisation, rehabilitation and upgrade of the NSC railway network.

The corridor is defined as the main railway line connecting the mining district of Kolwezi in the DRC to the ports of Durban and Richards Bay in South Africa • The SADC Regional Gas Task Force which is a multi-stakeholder platform for public-private sector dialogue designed to enable and support the monetisation of the natural gas resources within the SADC region

• The Pharmaceutical Working Group which is a collective of pharmaceutical stakeholders who work jointly to increase pharmaceutical value chain investments in SADC • Host of the SADC Business Council which is the apex body of national business associations of the 16 SADC Member States and Regional Business Associations in Southern Africa.

• Host of the Strategic Water Partners Network which is a multi-stakeholder partnership working collectively to close a 17% gap between water supply and demand that is anticipated to manifest by the year 2030 in South Africa.

Our strategy is set by our members, key stakeholders and very experienced Board. It includes continuing to leverage our existing regional/national integration and infrastructure projects as well as catalysing new priority initiatives. In doing this, guidance has been received from our Members and Strategic Partners Advisory Committee.

The Committee recommended that the NBF focus on supporting the following initiatives: • Supporting the execution of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) • Continuing with the North-South Corridor Trade and Infrastructure programme • Providing support to Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) • Developing a regional digital infrastructure programme to expand broadband connectivity • Developing a SADC Agricultural Value Chain Programme. ◆

Our strategy is set by our members, key stakeholders and very experienced Board.

It includes continuing to leverage our existing regional/national integration and infrastructure projects as well as catalysing new priority initiatives.

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The NBF has work advisors and neu partnership betw

NEPAD PUBLIC SECTOR The NBF works with continental, regional and national governments to achieve NEPAD aligned objectives across the continent.

About the NBF

The NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) is an independent non-profit organisation that coo alignment with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) thematic areas. The o private sector resources (finance, expertise and information) towards Africa’s economic growt

ked tirelessly to become one of the most trusted utral facilitators that promote cooperation and ween governments and businesses in Africa.

BUSINESS FOUNDATION PRIVATE SECTOR

FUNDERS

The NBF operates as a Host, Secretariat and Project Management Unit (PMU) for private sector-led interventions in Africa.

The NBF works with Sponsors, Donors and DFIs to fund high-impact programmatic projects and initiatives.

ordinates private sector efforts aimed at Africa’s economic growth and development in objective of the NBF is to support public sector endorsed plans and projects by mobilising th and development.

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W IOE

Is the G20 meeting expectations?

Read the latest highlights from IOE-DeloitteB20 monitoring report on G20 performance.

The G20 in its current form was set up to coordinate an international response to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis.

The Covid-19 pandemic and its health, employment and social impacts challenged the G20 and its members even more than the crisis 12 years before. It has posed new challenges to policy makers and business and at the same time has aggravated many existing gaps in policy frameworks,

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such as informality, insufficient social protection floors, rigid labor markets and skill-building systems that do not reflect labor market needs. The G20 has tackled many of these issues in the last 12 years, developed policy priorities and created commitments, targets and goals.

Findings from a joint International Organisation of Employers (IOE)Deloitte-B20 monitoring report1 in 2018, however, highlighted that the G20 in its first ten years did not fully

realize its potential. The report suggested that it would be critical to strengthen the implementation of G20 commitments at the national level to evolve and modernize labor markets, skills and education systems, and actions that enable a better environment for business.

Even before the Covid-19 crisis, G20 countries were not on track to reach the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 of the Agenda 2030 (Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all).

In 2019, an IOE-Deloitte-United States Council for International Business SDG monitoring report2 stressed that “the rate of global progress has, so far, not kept pace with the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda.

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W IOE

In the latest 2021 monitoring report, the impact of Covid-19 has drastically highlighted the need for bold and ambitious reforms. The performance of labor markets during the crisis were the result of policy choices. A swift and sustainable recovery will depend on proper labor market and education frameworks. This is even more important as many employees are in danger of losing their jobs permanently to rapid automation, digitization, and structural changes accelerated by the pandemic.

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. In many ways, “building back better” means to undertake the actions already identified long before the onset of the pandemic.

The G20 has agreed in the past on important policies, such as the G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan, the G20

Structural Reform Agenda and the G20 Skills Strategy. These commitments need to be turned into concrete actions in all G20 countries. The impact of the G20 at the national level has been noticeable in the last three years (6.8 out of 10 points). This is progress, but this monitoring report highlights that the G20 is not a driver of reform for job creation and economic growth.

Looking ahead, as the world recovers from the employment and economic impact of Covid-19, the G20 must fully exploit its potential by setting out more ambitious and relevant commitments and strengthening follow-up at the national level. If this is successfully done, the G20 could undoubtedly have its most impactful decade to date. ◆ Read the full report here on: ioe-emp.org

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. In many ways, “building back better” means to undertake the actions already identified long before the onset of the pandemic.

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G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W EMISSIONS B R A N D E D S T O RY

Transition to Net-Zero: The Collaborative Imperative (Adapted from Consultation Report on the Canadian Energy Sector’s Transition to Net Zero)1

The breadth of climate change impacts and implications on the entire global population underpins a necessity for collaboration between countries to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. A rational but rapid response to climate change is pertinent as global governments, businesses, investors and civil society are focused on the actions required to meet those goals. The Paris Agreement includes achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level – with a stretch goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

However, today companies operate in an increasingly volatile, complex and interconnected global environment.

Technological innovation, proliferation of data, and evolving societal expectations are reshaping all aspects of the business environment. In a post-pandemic context, companies GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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face pressure to demonstrate plans toward achieving net-zero, at the same time as some face existential challenges. For many, company priorities unavoidably shifted to focusing on supporting employees, averting disruptions to business, and devising innovative solutions to continue operations amid interruptions and uncertainty. Embedding a climate change strategy into those activities however, while challenging, is vital to the success of achieving net-zero emissions.

Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada’s Transition to Net-Zero Series As part of an initiative to appreciate the roles of the various players and economic sectors in Canada’s transition to net zero, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada along with The Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Canadian Chapter of the CFO

leadership Network hosted a series of roundtables.

The roundtable sessions gathered insights and viewpoints from corporate directors, senior management, and operational teams of Canadian companies, as well as from representatives of the institutional investment community that provides capital to the companies. We sought to explore key challenges and opportunities for each sector in the transition to net-zero.

This article is intended to augment some of the findings from three important themes that emerged from the Transition to Net-Zero roundtable series and highlight a recurring focus on the weight of collaboration as a success factor.

Although uniquely Canadian, the article presents themes and possibilities that are common to a global movement to a net-zero environment.

Investors, a key catalyst in a transition to net-zero must establish consistent expectations amongst their peers and with investee companies. Meanwhile, companies must get better at telling their story, so their investors and other interested stakeholders are receiving honest, transparent information.

Stakeholders must also seek opportunities to collaborate with Canada’s Indigenous peoples to enable an inclusive transition. Creating platforms that enable inclusive collaboration will lead to increased development of innovative climate solutions.

Themes i. As a longstanding cornerstone of Canada’s economic foundation, the oil and gas sector will be a critical player in achieving Canada’s netzero aspirations by 2050. However, transition is an issue of national interest for all Canadians and companies in all sectors.

Integrating climate initiatives is complex and requires buy-in from all levels of a company as well as from investors and other stakeholders.

Collaboration between stakeholders and sectors along the supply chain is essential to achieving a long-term,

prosperous plan. In fact, consideration of the end-to-end supply chain is mandatory to integrating Scope 3 GHG emissions (the result of activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organization, but that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain)2 into decision-making.

Globally, however, investor expectations are changing, and investors and funders each have their own set of criteria, which gives rise to ambiguous expectations. Complexities and unclear expectations within a company may act as a deterrent to taking action on transitioning.

This article is intended to augment some of the findings from three important themes that emerged from the Transition to Net-Zero roundtable series and highlight a recurring focus on the weight of collaboration as a success factor.

ii. Technologies and innovations are an integral part of reducing costs and emissions for Canadian oil and gas companies. Canada is well situated to be a global leader in low-carbon innovation by developing, commercializing and exporting innovative cleantech solutions.

Several promising technologies and innovations being implemented will facilitate Canada’s transition to a lower-carbon economy while providing opportunity to export solutions.

According to Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance, “Canada has a strong, diversified and resource-rich economy; a world-leading financial sector; and excellent capacity for innovation. By harnessing these advantages, Canada can be among the leaders in the global transition to a low-emissions future as a trusted source of climate-smart solutions, expertise and investment.”3 Sustainable finance programs are a key feature of public policy initiatives that support business investment in these technologies. Sustainable finance can accelerate transition and help businesses and civil society to initiate actions toward a transition to net zero. iii. Regulation that enables transition was regarded by roundtable participants as a significant success factor in the Canadian landscape.

Companies and investors require regulatory certainty and clear policy incentives for net-zero investments.

Without stable signposts and direct incentives via policy and regulation, companies may avoid the research → 127

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→ and development spending required to scale up emissions reduction efforts in a meaningful way.

As the global economy moves rapidly toward a low-carbon transition, clear and consistent policies and regulations will enable companies to develop supporting technologies that are both feasible and affordable.

Regulatory and policy certainty allows companies to take the long-term view required to develop and implement concrete plans to achieve net-zero aspirations.

By facilitating more effective public-private dialogue, the business community can collaborate with various levels of government to develop and implement effective policies, with an aim to achieve common goals, including Nationwide emissions reduction.

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Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) can help CPAs can accelerate the net-zero transition by supporting companies’ identification, assessment and disclosure of climate or transition related risks. A proliferation of data and its consumption by consumers, governments and investors puts companies at risk of losing control of their story. The accounting profession can play an important role in separating noise from facts, by developing frameworks and processes that provide specific metrics across stakeholder groups.

CPAs’ competencies in managing financial information can and should be transferred to intangible data value chains to ensure the key performance measures and other metrics being reported are well suited to the fluid

digital information environment.

The profession’s convening ability has proven successful in bring together sectors and various functions that play a role in the transition to a net-zero economy. By facilitating a more effective public-private dialogue, CPAs can support the business community to collaborate with each other and with various levels of government to develop and implement policies, with an aim to create a strategy toward a Nation-wide response to achieving net zero emissions. ◆ 1. Consultation Report on the Canadian Energy Sector’s Transition to Net Zero 02689-RG-CPA-Canada-ConsultationReport-Canadian-Energy-SectorTransition-Net-Zero (10).pdf 2. Scope 3 Inventory Guidance | US EPA 3. Expert panel sustainable finance Canada.ca

Helping businesses navigate climate change

Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) can help your organization make more informed decisions — and increase resilience — in the face of climate change.

How? By identifying climate-related risks and opportunities. By estimating financial impacts and performing scenario analyses. By advising on long-term business performance.

Need a strategic response to climate change? Enlist a CPA. FIND OUT MORE AT

cpacanada.ca/ClimateChange 17-0683

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W ILLICIT TRADE

Illicit Trade and Sovereign Credit Ratings

By Dr. Ulrika Bonnier

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Illicit trade is a major and growing policy challenge worldwide. From smuggling, counterfeiting and tax evasion, to the illegal sale or possession of goods, services, and wildlife, governments are losing billions in tax revenues, legitimate businesses are undermined, and consumers are exposed to poorly made and unregulated products. These crimes are also tied to human rights and labor rights violations, money laundering, illicit financial and arms flow, child labor, and environmental degradation.

For G20 governments, illicit trade presents a wide range of problems that undermine their collective efforts to improve global prosperity. For starters, illicit trade has an extensive destabilizing impact on global security due to its central role in facilitating transnational organized crime and illegal flows of money, people and products across borders. It undermines the formal authority of rule of law, which can disrupt business and discourage investment. And, with estimations of various illicit activities running upward of $3 trillion; the drain on the global economy rivals the GDP of some G20 countries.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed an unremitting illicit economy to expand and take root, spawning new markets for illicit trade, like falsified vaccines, and deepening age-old illicit trade in alcoholic beverages, tobacco and counterfeits.

To deliver on its goals for sustainable development, there is a pressing need for sustained G20 leadership to address the persistent and multiplying threat of illicit trade to economic growth and prosperity.

Given that G20 governments have pledged to support developing countries and invest in their sustainable recovery, it is important to note that developing countries have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis, with potentially extreme economic, social and sustainable development consequences that may reverse decades of development progress and further jeopardize efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

An important aspect of development is

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To deliver on its goals for sustainable development, there is a pressing need for sustained G20 leadership to address the persistent and multiplying threat of illicit trade to economic growth and prosperity. investment. Political stability, financial strength, strong governance structures and institutional frameworks supported by a system of accountability and overall integrity are critical factors for a country to attract investment.

Yet, a recent study by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) found that countries that are poorly equipped to tackle llicit trade also suffer from poor credit worthiness. This is borne out by a statistically significant and positive correlation that exists between the 84 economies examined in the Global Illicit Trade Environment Index and the credit ratings assigned by the major international credit rating agencies S&P, Fitch and Moody’s.

The TRACIT study highlighted that countries with high scores on their capacity to fight illicit trade also have higher credit ratings. Conversely, countries with inadequate regulatory

environments and weak institutions making them particularly unprepared to face illicit trade, also have lower credit rating scores.

The correlation can be explained by the fact that illicit trade has a direct negative impact on the very economic, social, and institutional risk factors that credit rating agencies evaluate to determine countries’ ability to honor their debt. The corruption, crime, human trafficking, money laundering, and environmental degradation connected with illicit trade all combine to weaken a country’s economic, financial and institutional stability hat underpin its credit ratings.

This is disastrous because lower credit ratings affect a government’s ability o borrow money on the international financial markets, dampen their attractiveness to foreign investment and ultimately choke their economic prospects. → 131

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→ Moreover, the more a country is vulnerable to illicit trade, the fewer prospects it has to create employment, improve its economic performance, and consolidate its governance structures.

This results in lower credit rating determinations by international rating agencies, further dampening the economic and financial forecast and nurturing the perpetuation of the structural conditions where illicit trade prospers.

In contrast, if countries invest resources and develop policy initiatives to strengthen governance and institutional settings that would enable them to more effectively combat illicit

trade, they can have a significant positive impact on credit scores.

Correcting the regulatory environment and economic circumstances that enable illicit trade can improve the environment upon which a country’s credit ratings are based. The dividends associated with better credit ratings include a lower cost of borrowing, enabling governments and domestic companies to raise capital in the international financial market, stimulating long term investment and growth.

This issue is not solely the responsibility of Ministries of Trade; all government agencies need to be

As G20 Leaders move from crisis management into recovery mode, it will be important to amplify their attention to the problem of illicit trade and to press for implementation and enforcement of all its standing commitments.

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aligned and need to actively play their individual role against illicit trade.

As G20 Leaders move from crisis management into recovery mode, it will be important to amplify their attention to the problem of illicit trade and to press for implementation and enforcement of all its standing commitments.

Without continued political will to prioritize the problem there is a real threat that illicit trade activities caused by the pandemic become permanent features of the post-pandemic economy.

Fighting illicit trade is therefore a matter of urgency and G20 government efforts to address these crimes should be considered critical investments that pay tangible dividends for decades to come.

Unless governments do so, illicit trade and the underlying conditions that facilitate it will continue to have severe repercussions on society, the economy, and development, and continue to drive up the cost of much needed borrowing to build back better. ◆

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W EROSION CONROL B R A N D E D S T O RY

Stop Erosion, Save Water and Recycle Plastic while Growing Trees with One Solution Dirt Locker ® Hillside Terracing and Erosion Control

By Krista Stewart

With beads of sweat running down his face under the hot Southern California sun, Mark Trebilcock struggled with the hard-packed clay soil and uneven slope on his hillside.

No matter what he did to grow the fruit trees and plants he wanted, the only thing growing in his yard were weeds and his aggravation. The soil erosion and inability to keep water at the roots were the main culprits.

He had tried multiple store-bought products to mitigate the erosion and keep the plants hydrated, but nothing worked until he created a prototype in his garage that he began to test

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out on his yard. His prototype was the first version of the Dirt Locker®, a hillside terracing device that saved water and stopped the persistent erosion. The Dirt Locker® can also reduce agricultural waste, plant mortality, labor for terracing or maintenance, and consumes waste plastics through recycling.

When traveling in East Africa Mark saw the need for an agricultural product to help people grow their food in inhospitable terrain. During his trip through Rwanda and Uganda, Mark began to seriously consider the possibility of developing an

international network for the Dirt Locker®, knowing that it could help mitigate problems like plastic pollution, land availability, and unsustainable agriculture. He learned that in Rwandan culture, it is customary for families to subdivide the property to the children, generation after generation, inevitably leading to less land to a farm which creates a food problem when they are not able to grow enough to feed their families.

In addition to the overpopulated land, non-farmable slopes, and erosion deteriorating the little remaining land, Rwanda has become dependent

on outside sources for food instead.

He saw an even more dire situation when he went to Haiti as a volunteer of Love A Child (www.loveachild.com).

This organization has provided help to Haitians in job creation, healthcare, orphanage services, and teaching them agricultural methods. Sadly, deforestation appeared to be the root of many of the island’s issues, which have reduced rainforests to deserts, preventing life on land. Consequently, the soil runoff has also negatively impacted aquatic life. Early in the process development phase, Mark sent several DirtLocker kits to Haiti.

There is a hope that they may be part of the revegetation solution for this impoverished nation once deployed.

The comments and feedback from expert landscapers bolstered his confidence to move forward. It seemed like a no-brainer that a product that converts non-arable land into a productive growing environment using scrap plastic had a commercial market.

Over the years, Mark continued to tinker and improve the design. He had an opportunity to work on the product full time. He knew this was

his opportunity to commercialize the Dirt Locker®.

Mark created a new configuration of the Dirt Lockers® where the pieces could be connected into a network that could be folded flat for ease of transportation and storage. The folded units can be pulled up onto a hillside and expanded out like an accordion.

The expanded network is a collection of cells, where each cell is a flat terraced growing area used for growing plants or walking/maintenance access on the hillside once backfilled with soil.

The newly formed matrix of terraced cells created by the expanded Dirt Locker® system significantly reduces erosion by retaining water on the hillside for the plants while also maintaining the topsoil. This network of basins acts like a gravity-fed water filtration system that holds the soil while allowing excess water to cascade over to the next cell. The arrangement solves multiple environmental issues such as soil erosion, water use, rainfall/ agricultural runoff, the high mortality rate for plants on hillsides, and pollution since they are 100% recycled plastic. Finally, the connecting hardware was eliminated, further simplifying the assembly/installation process.

Raised in Miami, Florida as a teenager, Mark had a passion for gardening and growing food primarily due to his mother’s love for the same and her interest in unique fruit trees.

His interest led him to start a small landscaping business although he had to transport his equipment by bicycle,

Both the material selection and Dirt Locker® design benefitted from the concepts of continuous improvement engineering learned from the telecom and medical device industries.

sometimes miles away. The logistical obstacles he overcame as a young entrepreneur motivated him to conceive and implement product/ process improvements. It seemed natural to pursue a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Systems from the University of Central Florida.

Mark maintained his love of landscaping throughout the years, always trying to find solutions to gardening problems. He eventually left the flatlands of Florida and moved to California, where he continued pursuing his passion for gardening and his career in manufacturing excellence for medical devices. Mark’s passion for horticulture and landscaping hit a wall when attempting to grow on the arid, clay slopes of Southern California.

It became clear that many people, homeowner associations, farmers, and gardening enthusiasts struggled to produce on slopes.

The creative problem-solving methods Mark developed that generated production efficiencies during his years in the telecom, medical device and biopharma industries were employed when Mark was learning how to grow in the mountainous, water starved, hardpacked rocky clay soil in Southern California. The current Dirt Locker® was born after several iterations on that original prototype, and years of evaluating materials, testing, trial, and error. After his experiences internationally, it became vitally important to Mark that the Dirt Locker® was developed so that it requires no special hardware, tools, or skills to assemble and/or install.

The product was developed so that the pieces can connect manually with no additional proprietary hardware.

Additionally, regardless of its configuration, there is only one SKU in each assembly. Whether the product is assembled into a network of hundreds of pieces, or a ring for an individual plant, only one SKU is used. The only hardware used with the Dirt Locker are commercially available or easily fabricated rebar J-hooks for securing the network to the hillside during installation. The only tools required for installation are common to any landscape project. → 135

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→ In addition to the simple assembly process, the Dirt Locker® is environmentally beneficial and safe to work around.

The Dirt Locker® is ecologically friendly in several ways, but at its core is constructed from 100% recycled, post-consumer waste, high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The Dirt Locker® is also food-friendly because HDPE is one of the few plastics approved by the FDA for food storage and preparation. As an example of the positive environmental impact, each Dirt Locker® saves on average the equivalent of 13 milk jugs from the landfill or oceans. In addition, the Dirt Locker® helps recover nearly 100,000 milk jugs monthly. The recycled plastic used in the fabrication of the Dirt Locker only adds to the environmental benefits while in use.

The overall efficiencies to the end-user are that the product does not require any special training, tools, or skills to use. Those efficiencies can help the user convert otherwise non-arable sloped terrain into terraced and agriculturally productive hillsides.

In addition, the Dirt Locker® does not need the same labor intensity, infrastructure, or cost to install than traditional terracing methods require.

Having developed a product easy to manufacture and assemble, Mark was ready to launch the Dirt Locker® commercially in 2018. The product’s demand has grown exponentially, even though marketing is limited to YouTube videos, the www.dirtlocker.com website, Facebook groups, and word of mouth.

Our customers have consistently bestowed generous compliments on the product and sales team. In addition, customers routinely comment on the ability of the Dirt Locker® to support the growth of plants in areas where they had previously been unsuccessful.

Here are a few of the comments: Bob B. Thousand Oaks CA: The product saved me 70% on my project over traditional solutions and looks better and will save water and plants.

Adam MD. North Carolina: Everyone in the neighborhood thinks the lockers are brilliant.

Thanks for all of your help!

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Srinivas, Georgia: Thank you so much for the detailed response, the wonderful invention, and the service.

Gillian, Canada: I LOVE this product.

Deborah, Puerto Rico: We will be planting more coffee plants inside of the next set of some Dirt Lockers®.

Dan G. Fallbrook CA: I came across your product, and it is exactly what I need!

As demand for Dirt Lockers® grew throughout the United States and internationally, the machine used to manufacture the Dirt Locker® in Mark’s garage could not keep up. So Mark expanded his manufacturing capacity by reaching out to his plastics supplier. They had the experience and manufacturing capacity to keep up with demand. They also had the experience with the plastic so there would be no learning curve.

Outsourcing manufacturing of the Dirt Locker® proved there are new prospects for the product, including manufacturing the product closer to the point of use, thus reducing carbon footprint through transportation efficiencies.

The Dirt Locker® went from concept to reality first with a scaleddown version using a 3D printer with the help of an online CAD program that allowed the interlocking terrace concept validation on a small scale.

The scale models demonstrated the effectiveness of the Dirt Locker®, enhancing Mark’s conviction to create a fixture used with hand tools to fabricate the first functional full-scale units. The assembled “handmade” units made networks at his house in California and at his mother’s residence in Florida. These initial installations proved that the product was beneficial and worked as expected.

The first large Dirt Locker® project made from 300 Dirt Lockers® was pulled onto a hillside and backfilled with soil in one day. Mark enlisted the help of a local landscape company

and entrepreneur and filmmaker Jon Schneider who created a multiple video of the entire installation and a local landscape company. Jon has since created a library of YouTube videos used for demonstrating the capabilities of the system and as instructional aids for the Do-It-Yourself installer. The five workers quickly assembled most of the 300 units in about 45 minutes after only 15 minutes of instruction.

The completed web of DirtLockers initially folded neatly on the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill was quickly expanded up the slope until it covered the face of the hillside. Next, the crew began attaching the final pieces where

The Dirt Locker® went from concept to reality first with a scaled-down version using a 3D printer with the help of an online CAD program that allowed the interlocking terrace concept validation on a small scale.

the contour of the hillside warranted, and before lunch, the network of cells was getting backfilled with improved soil. With the cells filled, the individual terraces could now be safely traversed by workers, facilitating the planting process. The benefits of hillside access using the Dirt Lockers is both demonstrated and succinctly stated in the testimonial by customer Stormy C. on the Dirt Locker® YouTube channel.

“Something that the retention wall doesn’t have is steps with an option to walk up and have to access the plants. You are still going to have weeds and overgrowth that need to be maintained.” Stormy C. CA

Once planted, the Dirt Locker® terraced hillside flourished.

Approximately six months after planting the hillside, Mark’s neighbors, recalling the bleached lifeless slope, now commented on how much they appreciated its beauty and the enjoyment it brought to their daily walks. During the summer, when temperatures are frequently triple digits, the containment properties of the Dirt Locker® allowed water to penetrate deeper into the hillside, which helped the soil stay hydrated longer. The enhanced soil hydration encouraged the plants to flourish, improving the strength and stability of the slope with time, this was stated

most poignantly by customer Karl B. of New York below.

“A standard retaining wall is the strongest it will ever be on the first day that it is completed, whereas the Dirt Locker® system gets stronger over time as the plants root into the dirt which is what makes it strong. It’s a complete eco-system of plantings nd the Dirt Locker system that work together to hold back the hill.”

Karl B., NY Mark worked tirelessly in all Dirt Locker’s® design, testing, installation, and manufacturing phases until he was ready to share it with the world.

His brother Norman, the owner of Trebilcock Consulting Solutions (TCS), a civil engineering firm in Naples, Florida (www.trebilcock.biz ), had some of his engineers help Mark with drawings and product evaluation.

While developing the Dirt Locker® using different manufacturing methods, it was always evaluated for manufacturing in areas with the same availability to technology or skilled workers. For instance, in some geographies, complex machinery may not be realistic. However, a fixture and hand router are possible, especially when the pay rates permit labor-intensive industries allowing the Dirt Locker® to move manufacturing to new regions where it makes economic sense. We have only begun to realize all the benefits of this disruptive technology yet easily applied product. Our objective is to work with professionals globally to find other uses, benefits, and potential enhancements to the Dirt Locker®. ◆ 137

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W MALDIVES B R A N D E D S T O RY

Your Gateway to Paradise: The Preferred Mode of Transportation in Maldives

The Maldives has shown that travel to even the remotest and unspoiled archipelagos on the planet is attainable. The islands’ striking beauty, combined with luxury resorts, would not be as accessible as they are if it wasn’t for a handful of daring people.

They turned their passion into a service benefiting visitors, resorts and Maldivians alike.

How it Started The Maldivians undertook voluntary work in order to build their own airport and in 1966, Male’ saw the first commercial landing.

The few adventurous travelers who came to the Maldives in the following years were limited to exploring the pristine islands close to Male’. The natural and untouched beauty of the islands started to appeal an increasing number of inquisitive travelers, and the first resorts opened in 1972, all within reach of a boat from Male’.

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Maldivian Air Taxi & Trans Maldivian Airways The beginnings of commercial aviation in the Maldives are to be undoubtedly attributed to Trans Maldivian Airways.

TMA started in 1989 as a company operating a helicopter fleet under the name Hummingbird Island Helicopters.

However, the destination was struggling with infrastructure problems relating to the established helicopter air service, and the many resorts were still only reachable by boat, the idea of faster and more convenient travel was about to be floated. Traveling to Kuredu in 1991, Lars Erik Nielsen, recalls “ The passengers were so sick on the voyage, I had to find a better way to travel!”. And he did. With his love of seaplanes and the much-needed Scandinavian entrepreneurship, he started Maldivian Air Taxi in 1993.

From its humble beginnings in 1993 with only two aircraft, the company grew rapidly over the years where now,

close to a million passengers are transferred every year. With the succession of seaplane operation in the country, Hummingbird Island Helicopters later changed their name to Hummingbird Island Airways, and the first seaplane was added to the fleet in 1997. The transition to a seaplane-only fleet was completed in 1999 and another year later, the name was changed to Trans Maldivian Airways. In February 2013 Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) and Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) partnered with Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms under the name Trans Maldivian Airways Private Limited (TMA). In December 2017, the company was acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity, a global private equity firm headquartered out of the US in association with Tempus Group, a Chinese tourismfocused conglomerate, from the current shareholders led by Blackstone.

Since its inception in 1989 Trans Maldivian Airways represents a synonym for connecting the Maldives islands. It is the oldest air services operator in the Maldives and has grown to become the largest seaplane operator in the world.

TMA Fleet Flown around the world at locations ranging from tropical jungles to arid deserts, over mountains into the freezing Arctic, the de Havilland Twin Otter, manufactured in Canada, is an example of rugged reliability and safety. Perhaps the best testimony to the timelessness of the Twin Otter is the fact that it remains the largest- selling commuter airplane in the world. The De Havilland Twin Otter is a highly maneuverable, versatile aircraft, and the high winger, unpressurized, twin-engine turbine powered aircraft is ideally suited to operate in all conditions and climates.

The versatility of this aircraft makes it perform very well on wheels, skis or on floats. The latter, along with the useful Short Take-Off and Landing performance, makes it the ideal aircraft for the 1190-island archipelago of the Maldives. With a fleet of 57 de Havilland Twin Otters, Trans Maldivian Airways operates the largest seaplane operation in the world.

TMA Services Trans Maldivian Airways services include resort transfers where the journey is every much a part of the experience as the destination itself, stunning photo flights over one of the world’s most picturesque nations, private charter for a touch of exclusivity, excursions never to be forgotten as well as the flights we all hope we will never needpassenger evacuation flights.

Private Charter This is mainly for VIP guests or those who require dedicated flights from any destination of preference.

This is catered for based on requirement. These charters also include Top VIP charters on our VIP configured aircraft to provide the ultimate luxury. For more information, please contact your travel agent, tour operator or resort.

Photo Flights The standard photo flight package, starting and finishing at the airport includes a 10-minute flyover. It is a very popular charter service and comes at a reasonable price.

For more information, please email BD@transmaldivian.com

Excursions Full-day and half-day excursions to uninhabited islands are the best way to enjoy a picnic with your team, family or partner. For more information, please email BD@transmaldivian.com

Resort Transfers Transfer of guests to and from guests contracted resorts on scheduled flights.

For more information, please contact your travel agent, tour operator or resort.

Passenger Evacuation Flights Passenger evacuation flights are provided upon requests for medical or other emergencies from resorts or local islands within the seaplane zone. ◆ 139

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How the Maldives Persevered: Natural Blessing and Industry Determination

The Maldives is unlike any other destination.

Scattered like pearls across the crystalline waters of the Indian ocean, the islands of Maldives capture the imagination of travelers across the entire world.

The Maldives consists of over a thousand islands dispersed over a length of over 870 kilometers. The islands come in all forms, shapes, sizes, with a uniqueness attached to each island. The scattered islands ensure that each island is naturally social-distanced from each other, and thus the Maldives provide unparalleled safety in these unprecedented times.

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their own private islands. In other words, the entire island is the resort.

Each resort functions unders strict and stringent safety measures, and the facilities ensure that every single traveler arriving at the resort presents a negative COVID-19 test, adding a layer of protection.

In an age of constant distractions and stimuli, the islands of Maldives is a safe haven of tranquility, safety, and peace.

Safe Haven Amidst The Pandemic In 2020, the world witnessed full border closures and travel restrictions. The Maldives, like many other destinations, made the difficult decision to close the borders for international travelers to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prioritize the health, safety, and wellbeing of the local population.

With stringent safety measures and

immense preparation, the Maldives also became one of the first destinations to re-open the borders for international travelers on 15th July 2020.

It is the unique ‘one-island-one-resortconcept, the safety provided by the naturally social-distanced islands of Maldives, and the stringent safety measures in place, that allowed the Maldives to re-open borders for international travelers.

The decision was possible as a result of the immense dedication and sacrifice undertaken by the tourism industry, the health sector, and beyond. As a small island nation heavily dependent on tourism, it was not a matter of choice whether the borders opened or not, it was a matter of necessity.

The world soon started to recognize the Maldives as a safe haven. A space for travelers to heal, reconnect with the natural world, and with themselves.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) granted the Maldives ‘Safe Travels Stamp’ in recognition of the efforts to implement enhanced health and safety measures, in line with the WTTC global safe travels protocols.

Furthermore, Velana International Airport received the ACI Airport Health Accreditation for consistent measures in line with ACI’s standards in ‘the new normal’.

In 2020, Maldives also received the ‘World’s Leading Destination’ award at the Grand Final of the World Travel Awards 2020. It was the first time the Maldives won the award in the history of the island nation.

Visit Maldives, alongside industry stakeholders and partners, continued working tirelessly to assure tourists that the Maldives was a safe haven, →

Heartfelt hospitality Extraordinary experiences Whether you’re seeking quality time with loved ones, or simply craving that feeling of the sand beneath your feet, our team are waiting to welcome you to our island homes. With five luxury resorts in Maldives and a beautiful beach retreat on the east coast of Sri Lanka, we’ll make sure that your dream vacation is well worth the wait. sunsiyam.com

Sun Siyam Iru Fushi Maldives Sun Siyam Olhuveli Maldives Sun Siyam Vilu Reef Maldives Sun Siyam Iru Veli Maldives Sun Siyam Pasikudah Sri Lanka Siyam World, Maldives

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W MALDIVES

One of the reasons why the Maldives is gaining such traction across the globe is a result of the uniquely-Maldivian “one-islandone-resort” concept. Unlike many other destinations, resorts in the Maldives are nestled in their own private islands. → and even marketed to closed destinations to keep travelers dreaming about the destination. The awards, accolades, and recognition is truly a testament to the strength, will, and determination of the Maldivian people.

Journey to the Maldives The Maldives also maintained a fine balance between safety and comfort.

For travelers, embarking on their journey to the Maldives is an easy endeavour. All travellers arriving in Maldives are granted a free 30-day on-arrival visa with a confirmed booking for a stay at any registered tourist facility. There is no mandatory quarantine on arrival.

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prior to their departure. The regulation applies to all tourists including those who have received the prescribed dose(s) of the COVID-19 vaccine.

For a complete and up-to-date requirement for entry, visit imuga. immigration.gov.mv/ethd.

The Maldives have also recently launched a campaign in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism under the name “I’m Vaccinated!”. The ultimate target of the campaign is to make Maldives the destination with the first fully vaccinated tourism sector in the world. As of 22nd September 2021, 93% of resort employees are fully vaccinated.

The Way Forward During the pandemic the Maldives found strength in each other in the industry, and worked together as partners and discussed ways on moving

forward. The industry understood intimately that we must all be wellequipped and prepared for crises and uncertainties.

The looming climate threat and the effects of environmental degradation are realities that we are confronting, and will continue to confront. Travelers visit the Maldives for the jaw-dropping beauty of our natural environment. This same environment and ecosystems are also the lifeline of the Maldivian people.

It is in our best interest to safeguard the land on which we live, and become responsible custodians of the environment.

Last year, His Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, nominated Addu and Fuvahmulah as UNESCO biosphere reserves. On 28 October 2020, UNESCO’s included Fuvahmulah and Addu Atoll in the Maldives, to UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Fuvahmulah became the second site in Maldives to be declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, after Baa Atoll, which was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2011.

Furthermore this ensures protection within the region and preservation of natural marine life, as well as guaranteeing that the protected areas are developed sustainably.

In addition the President has also declared a list of Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) banned for import into the Maldives from June 1, 2021.Banning the use of SUPs in the Maldives is one of the Government’s key environmental pledges and it is hoped that it will help minimize the harmful effects of single use plastics on the country’s vulnerable marine environment and on human health.

Uncertainty is inevitable. What matters is how prepared we are for it, and how well equipped we are to deal with the uncertainties that arise. The pandemic revealed that with honest open communication, effective leadership, and strategic planning, we are capable of dealing with anything.

The Maldives was a destination that was at the brink of economic collapse last year, and yet, we persevered. It is with the same perseverance and strength that the Maldives moves forward into an optimistic and hopeful future. ◆

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Tomorrow is decided by us today Worldwide, there is plenty of awareness that more sustainability is urgently necessary. The focus now must be on implementation The fight against climate change dominates headlines around the world – and rightly so. Young people are more politically active now than they have been in a long time. The issue has been on the global agenda since long before “Fridays for Future” – but it has become dramatically more urgent. Not least of all, this is because climate change is no longer abstract. Each one of us is feeling the impact of “business as usual” more and more directly every day. Melting glaciers no longer leave any hiker cold. Floods and burning forests are raising more and more fears in our part of the world as well. The impact of climate change is no longer something we hear about only in news reports about faraway countries. The impact is visible on our doorstep every day. Now it is clear to everyone that much more needs to be done – and should have been done long ago.

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Sustainability has arrived in global politics Despite all this, it was not until 2015 that the international community was able to agree on binding targets and deadlines in the Paris Agreement on climate change. Since then, terms such as climate neutrality, decarbonisation, and net zero have dominated the public discourse. The year 2015 was important not only for the fight against climate change, however, but also for more sustainable development as a whole. That year, the United Nations succeeded in adopting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs set out a binding, comprehensive, and global sustainability concept. They aim to shape our world by 2030 in such a way that all people will have the same opportunities for a healthy and peaceful life in freedom and security.

So it makes sense to claim that 2015 was the year when sustainability finally arrived in global politics. Certainly, both the Paris Agreement and the SDGs have their weaknesses. Not all countries have signed the agreements or have committed to implementing the same ambitious targets. But this should no longer serve as an excuse.

Pandemic as a warning and accelerator The current global pandemic in particular has impressively shown that a comprehensive approach in line with the SDGs is correct and that the social aspects must not be forgotten in the context of the urgent environmental challenges. For example, as human habitats expand, there is more contact between wildlife and humans, making it easier for viruses to spread. The World Bank estimates that up to

another 100 million people may fall below the poverty line due to the medium-term economic impact of the pandemic. Moreover, the progress made thanks to tremendous efforts in public and private education around the world is in jeopardy due to a lack of funds. Finally, the accumulated global public debt is astronomical and far from sustainable.

So that we can keep our world worth living in for our children and grandchildren, we not only need to think differently – we need to act decisively. In other words, we need to walk the talk. The envisaged transformation needs all of us, and it poses enormous challenges. The private sector, policymakers, researchers, and society as a whole are all equally challenged. The risks for certain industries are well known. But there is still far too little talk about the opportunities – especially for the financial sector. According to estimates

by PwC, the annual global investments required to achieve the SDGs amount to approximately USD 7 trillion. Only one seventh of this amount is currently covered by the public sector. A substantial share must come from the private sector. The recent “Better Business, Better World” report also shows that pursuing sustainable and integrative business models could unlock economic business opportunities worth at least USD 12 trillion per year by 2030, creating up to 380 million jobs.

Multifaceted contribution of the banking sector Liechtenstein and its banking sector have committed themselves to implementing the SDGs. Perennial sceptics may once again claim that Liechtenstein, as a small country, is hardly able to make a meaningful contribution. This ignores, however, that the country is home to a broadly diversified, export-oriented economic sector with a strong industrial location and an internationally positioned financial centre. Liechtenstein is one of the most industrialised countries in Europe. Industry and the financial centre alone account for approximately 65% of the country’s gross domestic product. Together, they play an essential role in innovation, research,

and development, but also in mobilising and channelling the funds needed to implement the SDGs. It is no coincidence that the banking sector has set out an ambitious vision in its new multi-year strategy, Roadmap 2025: We want to make a valuable contribution to the transformation of the global economy towards greater sustainability. We are doing this on four levels. Firstly, the ESG criteria for sustainable investments play a decisive role in the banking sector when putting together a sustainable investment portfolio. The greatest weight is currently given to environmental criteria. In terms of the SDGs, goals 6 (clean water), 7 (clean energy), 9 (innovation & infrastructure) and 13 (climate action) are accordingly of great importance from an investment perspective. Here, banks will play an important steering role through an expanded product offering.

Secondly, the focus of the individual banks’ own support and promotion measures is primarily on the following SDGs: 3 (health), 4 (quality education), 6 (clean water), and 15 (life on land).

Through their own grant-making foundations, the Liechtenstein banks are already very active in these areas, and they are also living up to their social responsibility through their participation in Waterfootprint Liechtenstein and the FAST initiative to combat human trafficking and modern slavery. Thirdly, all banks have very long-term oriented business models based on stability, resilience, and security. The banks comply with

European and international standards in tax matters and on combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and corruption. And last but not least, many social aspects are emphasised by both the Liechtenstein Bankers Association and its members. Work-life balance, new hybrid working models, and the Villa Wirbelwind daycare centre initiated by the banks are just a few examples. Once again in terms of the SDGs, these help support goals 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality, reconciliation of family and working life, and diversity) and 9 (infrastructure and mobility).

The major banks are in a strong position to lead by example. LGT, for instance, as the largest and most international banking group, already presents its contribution to the SDGs in considerable detail on its website and recently committed to net zero as part of the NetZero Banking Alliance.

In all of this, the goal set out in SDG 17 – strengthening partnerships and cooperation – is of great importance.

Especially as a small country, Liechtenstein depends on this. And also thanks to its short communication and decision-making channels, this cooperation is put into practice both across the private sector and between the private and public sector to an extent hardly seen in any other country. Greater sustainable development requires not only that everyone takes the issue seriously and addresses it responsibly, but also that we implement it together just as consistently, turning words into deeds. ◆

About the Liechtenstein Bankers Association Established in 1969, the Liechtenstein Bankers Association is the domestic and international voice of the banks operating in and out of Liechtenstein. It is one of the country’s most significant associations and plays a key role in the successful development of the financial centre. Member interests are pursued in accordance with the principles of sustainability and credibility. As a member of the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Payments Council (EPC) and the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum (EPFSF), the Liechtenstein Bankers Association is a member of key committees at the European level and plays an active role in the European legislation process. Since 2017, the LBA has also been a member of the Public Affairs Council (PAC) with offices in Washington and Brussels and since 2018 of the international network ‘Financial Centres for Sustainability’ (FC4S).

Registered in the EU Transparency

Register with number: 024432110419-97

bankenverband.li https://www.bankenverband.li/en/ bankers-association/roadmap-2025

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Pioneering a sustainable future for paints and coatings AkzoNobel’s commitment to People. Planet. Paint.

Human activity has left an indelible mark on the planet. While centuries of growth and advancement have come at a cost, we have the insights, knowledge and expertise, along with collective responsibility, to limit our negative environmental impact and contribute to a sustainable future for all.

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Just as people, companies, and industries have contributed to increased global warming and its resulting environmental impact, the same people, companies, and industries can lead the change to a circular economy and a more harmonious coexistence with mother nature.

As a leader in our industry AkzoNobel is committed to playing our part in pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life while empowering people and minimizing our impact on the planet through the launch of People. Planet. Paint. our approach to sustainable business.

A TRACK RECORD OF SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability is one of our core values and is integrated in everything we do.

Whether it’s coatings that protect against bacteria, save energy usage or transform spaces through color, we’re experts in looking beyond the surface in order to bring them to life. Sustainability is integrated in everything we do, and it’s been in our DNA since 1792.

Over the years we’ve invested in a broad range of sustainability initiatives and practices designed to reduce our impact on the planet. From being the first company to remove lead compounds from our products to being the first in our industry to commit to the Science-based Targets Initiative that sets carbon emission reduction targets for scope 1, 2 & 3 we are determined to lead the way.

We believe that driving the sustainability agenda cannot be done by ourselves and this is why collaboration is important. It plays a key role to move things quicker. We engage and collaborate proactively with our stakeholders to identify opportunities to create shared value.

Our key stakeholders, as reflected in People. Planet. Paint. are customers, employees, suppliers and communities, as well as society, industry associations and investors.

We’ve become a member in various associations and organizations, which align with our sustainability approach, namely, the World Green Building Council, United Nations Global Compact, Together for Sustainability, RE100, The Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, the Ocean CleanUp, SOS Children’s Villages and more.

Our efforts have also been recognized

by Sustainalytics (assessed as low risk, the best possible rating in our industry), EcoVadis (Platinum rating placing us in the top 1% of all companies studied), MSCI (AAA rating for six consecutive years), Vigeo Eiris (first in our industry), Corporate Knights Clean200 and more.

PEOPLE. PLANET. PAINT: THE KEY TO SUSTAINABILITY People: We act with integrity and respect human rights across our operations

and value chain, embracing diversity and inclusion, to transform the communities in which we operate. It’s about ensuring a safe and diverse work environment, developing our talented workforce, embracing our values and our approach to human rights.

AkzoNobel supports the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labor Organization.

Through our AkzoNobel Cares and Let’s Color programs we ran over 1000 projects around the world and trained over 15,000 people in 2019.

As an employer, AkzoNobel has been recognized as a Top Employer in multiple countries including the UK, China, Brazil, the US, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland.

By 2025, AkzoNobel expects over 30% of the company’s executives to be female and to have trained over 35,000 community members globally.

Planet: Our Planet ambitions are tangible and will enable us to continue making an important contribution to addressing the sustainability challenges faced by our company, customers and broader society. As well as working to cut carbon emissions and reduce waste to minimize impact, we’re also taking proactive steps to improve our ways of working to build better processes for the future.

For many years, we’ve been working to operate in a more sustainable way, and we continue to take steps to reduce our environmental impact through reformed value chains. We focus particularly on reducing energy use, carbon emissions, VOCs and waste, while increasing our use of renewable energy and materials.

Our aim is to reduce carbon emissions in our own operations by 50% by 2030 and by 42% across the whole value chain of a 2020 baseline, reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030, and use 100% renewable electricity by 2030. We also have an ambition to produce zero non-reusable waste and to recycle wasted water at our most water intensive sites. These ambitions are not only achievable but we’re on track to get there.

Lastly, we’re always looking for new ways to drive sustainable innovation that brings tangible benefits, delivers a positive social and environmental impact, and enables our customers to reach their own sustainability goals.

That’s why we focus on developing our portfolio of paints and coatings with sustainability benefits in our value chain and offering our customers one of the largest portfolios of sustainable solutions in our industry.

Paint: We are committed to creating impactful sustainable solutions that bring interior and exterior surfaces of life while also empowering our customers to achieve their own sustainability objectives. From buildings to ships and everything in between, sustainable, highperformance paints and coatings are our lifeblood.

Currently, AkzoNobel generates approximately 40% of our revenue from sustainable solutions, which is the highest in the industry. However, it is not enough. AkzoNobel continues to focus on innovation and pioneering new products that have a sustainability benefit. By 2030, AkzoNobel aims sustainable solutions to make up more than 50% of the company’s revenue.

A team of 3,000 scientists works closely with customers to develop innovative, sustainable solutions to →

We believe that driving the sustainability agenda cannot be done by ourselves and this is why collaboration is important. It plays a key role to move things quicker. We engage and collaborate proactively with our stakeholders to identify opportunities to create shared value.

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→ real-world concerns and challenges.

All sustainable solutions are developed with four innovation drivers in mind, productivity, asset protection, surface enhancement, and environmental protection.

In order to measure the positive and negative sustainability characteristics of our product portfolio we have the developed our Sustainable Product Portfolio Assessment (SPPA) framework together with several leading chemical companies in the world and the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).

This SPPA framework takes a holistic view of product portfolio sustainability, with a focus on developing sustainability advantages that AkzoNobel can offer to customers. The SPPA was instrumental in developing a broad range of sustainable solutions (products and services) that deliver sustainability advantages downstream and now account for 40% of the company’s portfolio. Prime examples are the Eco-premium solutions that offer clear sustainability benefits and outstrip competitors, leading to best-in-class designations.

Within our SPPA framework, products are characterized as sustainable for their ability to bring sustainability benefits in one of the following areas: • Health and well-being • Reduced carbon and energy • Less waste • Longer-lasting performance • Reduce, renew and reuse.

These sustainability criteria are embedded in our innovation programs.

Based on these criteria we focus on creating innovative paints and coatings to reduce fuel consumption, limit heat transfer, amplify light emission, and more, all with minimal VOCs, waterbased products, and other carbonreduction methods.

Waste reduction throughout the company’s production cycle is also vital. Waste and water can be reused and recycled, including overspray.

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ensuring the best possible performance and durability for customers.

To ensure that we’re able to anticipate changes in legislation and remain at the forefront of pioneering innovative solutions we’ve developed, our priority substance program. This multi-award-winning priority substance program is focused on proactively removing hazardous substances from existing products and formulations ahead of legislation, as was the case with removing lead compounds from our products.

AKZONOBEL’S SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS We take our responsibility as an industry leader seriously and we are committed to applying these lessons throughout the supply chain to address both energy use and air quality.

We have made an ongoing commitment to invest in sustainability, innovation and society. The foundations of our work are built on a review of the risks and opportunities within the context of our key market segments to 2030.

This has demonstrated to us the need to leverage the latest knowledge across science and society, identify and mitigate our challenges, and develop strategies to make the future better.

For example, South East & South Asia is a market experiencing robust economic and population growth. This

demands high levels of construction to meet the demands of a new middle class and rapid urbanization. However, as our research identified, this also means that there is a vast opportunity to pioneer new solutions.

Today, AkzoNobel has committed to tackling climate change and helping the company’s customers reduce their own carbon emissions through intelligently designed products and solutions. These include the following: Reduction of Urban Heat Island effect: Cities experience the “urban heat island effect”, especially those cities that are subject to temperatures of 35°C and above throughout the year.

This results in growing energy consumption, which is needed to cool down buildings. What many people are unaware of, however, is the fact that the materials used on exterior façades can have a significant impact on the temperature inside a building.

When infrared radiation from the sun strikes the surface of a building, some of it is reflected and some is absorbed in the form of heat. This causes the exterior wall of the building to increase in temperature, and this heat is subsequently transmitted to the interior of the building. Thanks to innovative technology and smart formulation modelling software, our researchers have developed strategies to increase the solar reflectivity of our coatings. We’ve carefully managed the pigments we use in our paints to

in a variety of decorative paints, coil coatings and powder coatings within the AkzoNobel portfolio.

We have made an ongoing commitment to invest in sustainability, innovation and society. The foundations of our work are built on a review of the risks and opportunities within the context of our key market segments to 2030.

create striking colors while at the same time significantly increasing the amount of infrared radiation which is reflected by building façades. The result is a difference of up to 5°C between a façade coated with a normal exterior paint and one coated with our Dulux Weathershield Keep Cool products. Computer simulation modelling has also demonstrated energy cost savings of up to 10 to 15 percent, depending on the type of building. And this is achieved simply as a result of less energy being required to cool the inside of the building.

This type of cooling effect is available

Cleaner Air: In our work to purify the air around us, we can now use photocatalysis to trigger chemical reactions. In this process, photoactive titanium dioxide absorbs sunlight and reacts with oxygen and moisture to generate highly reactive free radicals, which in turn can contribute to the abatement of noxious emissions from motor vehicles, and decompose harmful gases like nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and VOCs. We closely monitor the cradle to grave lifecycle of our raw materials and finished products to reduce Volatile Organic Compounds, the impact of transportation and other environmental fallout.

Reducing Environment Footprints: Reducing the environmental footprint of our coatings is a clear focus of our research programs. We are striving to increase the use of renewable materials and optimize our use of lower carbon footprint raw materials.

Another, and perhaps less obvious, way to reduce footprint is through increasing the durability of exterior wall paints. Enabling longer maintenance and repainting cycles helps to reduce building maintenance costs and environmental impact. This is achieved by lowering the use of resources for the paint itself (which will last longer), as well as reducing water use due to less need for cleaning.

Both climate and human activities alter the appearance of building façades through UV- driven color fading, erosion, cracking, flaking, dirt and dust pick-up, fungal and algal growth. In tropical urban environments in particular, most exterior wall paints currently last around five to eight years. We are developing solutions to extend this durability to at least ten years and beyond. Our research programs are focused on developing new polymer technologies to best balance weatherability and softness to create products with a longer durability than standard products used on building façades. In

combination with durable pigments that do not fade under strong UV, and smart formulation modelling, we can deliver extended repainting cycles.

Resource Use: In addition to encouraging the use of renewable materials, AkzoNobel offers wood coatings that increase manufacturing efficiency.

Reduced Temperature Curing: Powder coating traditionally requires baking at very high temperatures to cure.

Achieving those temperatures requires immense amounts of energy. However, AkzoNobel’s specially engineered powder coatings can cure at much lower temperatures, reducing energy consumption significantly.

Marine Products: AkzoNobel manufactures solvent-free, VOCcompliant, universal primer designed specifically for marine environments.

These are critical as international shipping relies more and more heavily on cargo ships and sea-bound trade continues to grow.

COMMITMENT IN ACTION AkzoNobel takes the lead in sustainability initiatives.

While AkzoNobel has invested in a robust range of sustainable solutions and products, the organization is also committed to creating change across its own operations and broader society.

Solar Power Projects To achieve our ambition of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 AkzoNobel is investing in solar energy generation. Recent significant installations include over 1600 panels in Garcia (Mexico) and Barcelona (Spain) as well as more than 5,000 at the Shanghai site and almost 3,000 in Guangzhou (China). Two major projects in China will see the company accelerate its ambition of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030.

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→ Green Building Projects AkzoNobel is a proud member of the World Green Building Council (WGBC).

According to that organization, 38% of global energy related to carbon emissions comes directly from buildings – 27% of operational emission from heating, cooling, and powering buildings and 11% of embodied carbon in the form of construction materials and activities.

As a solution to this challenge, AkzoNobel is focusing on green building design and construction.

According to the WGBC, “a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.”

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transfer and drive down climatecontrol-related energy use. Longerlasting paints and coatings for building interiors and exteriors further reduce energy and resource consumption, as well as the need for repair, cleaning, and repainting. Biobased pollutantabatement paints for air purification as in Dulux Better Living Airclean and primer-cum-topcoat 2in1 paints, Dulux Professional Express, promotes productivity via increasing efficiency by 30%.

AkzoNobel is also dedicated to reducing the amount of embodied carbon in the company’s products. It will achieve this through low-bake/UV/ ambient cure coatings, low-VOC/ water-based products, and the use of renewable materials in decorative interior wall paints, metal coatings, and liquid protective wood and coil coatings.

Some impacts occur beyond the scope of our processes, with our suppliers and customers. For example, in paints and coatings, more than 98% of our carbon footprint comes from upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer) activities.

According to the WGBC, “a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment.

Upstream, we know that the emissions from raw materials such as pigments, resins and solvents are our greatest impact, so we have joined forces with suppliers to drive the use of bio-based materials, recycled content, or raw materials produced with renewable energy.

About the Author

Through these initiatives, the company will work towards achieving the World Green Building Council’s three primary goals, which are climate action through the proliferation of net-zero buildings; health and wellbeing to provide healthier places for people to live, work, and play; and resources and circularity to better manage natural resources.

Smart Application: Applying paints and coatings should require less energy and (when possible) rely on innovative techniques and technology.

AKZONOBEL’S PAINT THE FUTURE CHALLENGE In 2019, AkzoNobel launched the Paint the Future Global Startup Challenge. The mission is simple – to change the world of paints and coatings. The challenge features five themes that paints and coatings should embody, including:

Smart Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Paints and coatings should be manufactured, distributed, and applied through an intelligently designed process and robust supply chain. ◆

Enhanced Functionality: Paints and coatings should provide more than basic protection and aesthetics. They should also be more durable than previous formulations.

Customer Experience: Paints and coatings should deliver an excellent end-customer experience, including better adhesion, protection, colorfastness, and more.

Circular Solutions: Circular solutions help manage resource use and consumption while focusing on renewables/reusables.

About Akzonobel We’ve been pioneering a world of possibilities to bring surfaces to life for well over 200 years.

As experts in making coatings, there’s a good chance you’re only ever a few meters away from one of our products. Our world class portfolio of brands – including Dulux, International, Sikkens and Interpon – is trusted by customers around the globe. We’re active in more than 150 countries and have set our sights on becoming the global industry leader. It’s what you’d expect from the most sustainable paints company, which has been inventing the future for more than two centuries.

Pamela Phua has been General Director of AkzoNobel Decorative Paints Vietnam since 2017. At the beginning of 2021, she was appointed to be Product Management Director, Decorative Paints - SESA, being instrumental in developing and maintaining a product portfolio that satisfies market demands and maximizes margins at competitive costs.

Before moving to head Vietnam Paints business, Pamela was the BU R&D Director & Global Director, Exterior Walls. In her 18 years stint in R&D, she has driven the business with new technology development and product implementation across the region, especially in Vietnam market and has successfully launched many innovative products including Dulux Weathershield / Powerflexx, Dulux Pentalite, Dulux Wash & Wear / EasyClean, Dulux Inspire/ Catylac by Dulux and Aquatech.

In her global capacity, Pamela implements the functional and production innovation strategy for exterior wall paint. She spearheads the RD&I functional excellence, standards and capability, and the efficient delivery of processes as the approved standards and processes across the globe.

Together with a special passion for sustainable development, she has led her teams to innovate paintings products and solutions through increasingly sustainable benefits for AkzoNobel customers and the environment. She also actively gets involved in sustainable activities in projects to create inspiring living spaces for local communities and to promote green architecture trends.

Pamela’s expertise and experience has been instrumental in the setting up of industry standards in Singapore. She is the President and Technical Chairperson for the Singapore Paint Industry Association and a management member in the Chemical Standards Council of Singapore. She contributed to the development of various Singapore Standards such as SS 345 (Specification for emulsion paints for decorative paints), SS500 (Specification for elastomeric wall coatings), SS150 (Specification for Emulsion Paints for Decorative purposes), SS 579 (Specification for water- based sealer for interior and exterior uses) and many others. Pamela currently leads Working Group for Fine Ceramics (for photocatalysis) and Waterbased Standards and participates in the Working Group for Energy Efficient Coatings. She is also an A*Star certified auditor for accredited laboratories in Singapore.

With a special passion for sustainable development, Pamela is actively involved in projects to create inspiring living spaces for local communities and to promote green architecture trends. She is an author for the G7&G20 summit publication advocating green developments. She is also a keynote speaker in United Nation climate Change Conferences.

Email: Pamela.phua@akzonobel.com Mobile: +65 90279663 Address: AkzoNobel House, 3 Changi Business Park Vista, #05-01 SDingapore 486051 www.akzonobel.com

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Setting new standards Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at AkzoNobel. It’s vital for the future of our company, our society and our planet.

We have a passion for paint which drives our innovation and helps people to overcome the challenges they face every day.

Whether we’re developing paint that keeps buildings cooler or coatings that make the shipping industry more efficient, we’re always striving to embrace a more sustainable way of working.

That’s why we’ve been top of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for five out of the last six years.

And we’ll continue to use our ambition and imagination to deal more efficiently with the world’s limited resources.

Because sustainability is clearly good for business.

akzonobel.com

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W ISSUU B R A N D E D S T O RY

Page by Page, Digital Publishing Platform Issuu is Saving Trees and Helping Businesses Grow

By Joe Hyrkin, CEO, Issuu

The effects of climate change are hard to ignore.

From wildfires, droughts, and flooding in the West to rising sea levels and typhoons in the East, companies must realize that finding solutions is not only a governmental and societal problem, but a business imperative.

It’s not only about making your office green or employee policies more environmentally friendly, it’s actively seeking ways that your business or government agency can make thoughtful business decisions with sustainability in mind.

As a digital publishing company, the nature of Issuu’s business helps improve the environment. Digital publishing saves an immense amount of paper each year, and every piece of paper saved helps repair our planet.

As you know, trees serve a vital role in not only converting CO2 to oxygen, but storing much of the world’s carbon.

Sustainability matters to us all, and at Issuu, we’ve prioritized it as an important core business value. So we watch our metrics closely, tying them to both revenue and environmental impact.

A few months ago we conducted an internal analysis of the aggregate publishing activity happening on Issuu, and the data was inspiring.

More than 20,000 new documents and publications are uploaded to Issuu every day. These range in size from two-page sales spec sheets and 10-page real estate brochures to 48-page travel magazines, 300page retail catalogs and 500+ GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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page textbooks and beyond.

In addition to the number of pages, we also take into consideration the number of times a piece of content is read when measuring impact. This is because while someone only needs to upload a publication once to Issuu, in the physical world they would need to print a new copy for almost every reader. Often, people don’t even read every page that is printed in a magazine or book. Yet it still consumes a sheet of paper.

Between March 2020 and March 2021, digital documents and publications were read over 1.5 billion times on Issuu.

1,588,139,035, to be precise. However in the digital world, a page not-read has zero environmental impact.

So we dug deeper. Using the same subset of data, we tracked over 32 billion pages read. Instead of calculating our impact based on the number of pages published, we used the number of pages read.

Next, we considered how many sheets of paper an average tree produces.

The industry consensus is 8,333. Of course different tree types and sizes produce differing results, but for our purposes, we took the average.

Based on these numbers, we estimate that our Issuu publishing community has saved 3,811,686 trees in the past year alone. This kind of impact from our customers is what makes our everyday efforts worth it.

What can your company do to improve your environmental impact?

Here are six tips.

Reduce business travel, and make necessary trips count Issuu has offices in Copenhagen, Berlin, Braga (Portugal), and Palo

Alto (California), plus many of our U.S. employees work in cities and towns across the country. We work across continents and time zones, nd while nothing replaces in-person relationships, we rely heavily on tools like Slack, Zoom, Loom, and Jira to foster collaboration. When we do have to travel, we condense trips and combine meetings to get the most out of every mile.

Encourage the use of public transportation for commuting.

During the pandemic, our employees worked mostly from home, which saved countless emissions. But as we reopen our offices, as safety allows, we’re hopeful that public transportation will once again be a popular way to commute to work.

Donate extra office furniture and computers to nonprofits and local governments With many companies going remote, you may have extra office furniture and computer equipment on hand. Instead of offloading it to liquidators for pennies on the dollar, research local nonprofits and essential businesses such as hospitals, NGOs, and local governments and donate it. In many cases you may receive a write-off, but more importantly recycling furniture can help both the environment and organizations dedicated to social good.

If you make physical goods, reconsider your packaging and shipping Reducing plastic is critical to the preservation of our oceans, and helps landfills. There are many green alternatives available today, and the costs are often comparable or only

Based on these numbers, we estimate that our Issuu publishing community has saved 3,811,686 trees in the past year alone.

solutions may help. And if no one notices, turn off the printer. You’ll save energy with little cost. For larger printing jobs such as trade show collateral, brochures etc., try using digital tools to host your content online, and experiment with QR codes to bridge the gap between in-person interactions and your digital content.

slightly more expensive than plastic.

As for shipping? Try to disperse manufacturing to more plants closer to customers, and avoid quick-ship options. If your customers value your product, they’ll wait a few extra days to receive it and you’ll help reduce shipping-based environmental costs.

Reduce paper usage Whether for internal or external use, businesses often use a lot of paper.

Try turning off your office printer for a week to easily identify areas of over-printing. If you notice specific employees often printing large files, learn more and see if training in digital

Use Issuu Issuu provides the tools to transform content you might normally print into elegant looking digital formats that can be shared digitally across any channel. Millions of businesses and organizations have jettisoned printing altogether and rely on Issuu’s tools to present their materials and information to their audiences on their device of choice. Issuu provides an alternative that is more convenient, less costly and of course more environmentally beneficial than print.

Here at Issuu, we understand just how important it is for larger companies and organizations to make steps towards a more sustainable future. We’re committed to doing our part, and hope you will join us. ◆ 155

G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT R E V I E W STIKWOOD B R A N D E D S T O RY

A Peel & Stick Design Company Rooted in Sustainability Stikwood, the world’s first peel and stick reclaimed and sustainable wood planking company, was founded in 2012 by Jerry and Laura McCall. The company was founded in the belief that design can be beautiful, resourceful, easy, and environmentally friendly.

Easy on the eye as well as on our planet, sustainable materials are no stranger to the DIY and interior design scene as they have been introduced into residential and commercial spaces around the globe and made popular on television.

Bringing nature indoors is one thing that seems to never go out of style.

Stikwood strives to protect our ecosystems, which is why they are committed to the protection of our natural environment and reducing waste. Becoming FSC certified was a priority for the organization, and something they can take pride in.

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC), is a nonprofit organization specializing in setting standards for GROUPOFNATIONS.COM

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responsibly sourcing the timber used in many industries. Over the past 30 years, the FSC, along with other nonprofit agencies have been ensuring the health and sustainability of forests around the world by establishing best practices standards. This certification ensures all of the wood customers receive is only taken from legal forests.

The FSC is a wood industry certification system that lets customers and industry cohorts know that we buy and source from responsibly managed forests. The controlled wood is used as recycling materials. In order to be FSC certified, organizations must complete a number of steps to be considered.

All of Stikwood’s materials are

reclaimed or sustainable and each plank has a story to tell. Their standards are something they live by, which is supported by their FSC certification.

When it comes to protecting the environment, sustainable materials are a triple threat - conserving precious natural resources, saving energy, and reducing waste. This is possible because sustainable materials rely on renewable resources that nature replenishes and therefore can be used repeatedly without being exhausted.

Trees, for example, can be used to produce a host of commodities including wood, paper, and leather.

If new trees are planted at the same rate that existing trees are harvested,

the supply of trees can be conserved for future generations. When responsibly sourced materials such as reclaimed wood from a barn are in turn recycled into products like reclaimed wood paneling for the home or office, this helps minimize the energy and landfill waste that would otherwise have been generated by manufacturing interior decor from scratch.

The longevity of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, adobe, wool bricks, or solar tiles can be credited to their hardy composition.

For example, reclaimed wood found in old barns, farmhouses, and mills is often derived from trees that have aged for decades to a century or

longer. Reclaimed wood paneling produced from this mature wood is stable in the face of temperature and moisture variation, making it equally as resilient as it is visually striking. What is more, sustainable materials tend to require less maintenance, fewer repairs, and infrequent replacement, giving you more bang for your buck when compared with traditional materials.

From its formation, to production, to delivery, and even installation, Stikwood has thought about how the product impacts our communities and the people who use it. The entire organization is driven by the philosophy that if something’s worth doing, then it is worth doing right. ◆

The longevity of sustainable materials such as reclaimed wood, adobe, wool bricks, or solar tiles can be credited to their hardy composition.

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A

P ER S O N A L

I N V I TAT I O N

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The Island is powered by solar energy, produce is locally grown, and the accommodations are hand-crafted by Fijian artisans.

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