Globally, the COVID-19 crisis has had a lasting impact and has forced governments to introduce stimulus packages to help their economies recover. While addressing immediate social and healthcare needs are critical, a concerted effort is needed to incorporate climate goals into country-level COVID-19 responses.
Asian countries are no exception to the global trend of fiscal budget repurposing for COVID-19. Some of Asia’s biggest economies such as Indonesia, India, Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea have all announced dramatic fiscal interventions for COVID-19 response. Without embedding climate and other resource efficiency goals into the framework of economic recovery, countries will miss a golden opportunity to steer the course of economic growth, or worse, backpedal on climate and environmental progress made thus far.
This high-level virtual dialogue will feature key policymakers from Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, India, and South Korea to deliberate on how their respective countries have considered a green economic recovery. Climate Policy Initiative will also launch and share findings of an intriguing report titled, “Improving the impact of fiscal stimulus in Asia: An analysis of green recovery investments and opportunities” produced in collaboration with Seoul National University (SNU) and Vivid Economics. Specifically, the dialogue aims to address the following three questions:
- What are the priority areas of each country when it comes to economic recovery and fiscal support?
- Are there opportunities to make fiscal stimulus packages greener, or use them as instruments for a greener recovery?
- Having understood the key messages of the recent study on the impact of fiscal stimulus in five Asian countries, how and what can Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, India, and South Korea do as a bloc?
