What we did
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that human health and the environment are closely interlinked as environmental hazards influence majority of the diseases (about 60 percent of human infections are estimated to have an animal origin), and where COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases stem from environmental degradation, mainly resulting from unsustainable economic activities, such as the rise in intense and unsustainable farming and the increased use and/or exploitation of wildlife. Climate change is also a major factor in disease emergence. High exposure to pollution has increased people’s vulnerability to the disease. These drivers are thus mutually reinforcing and need to be tackled in an integrated fashion. The Philippines is, in fact, among the most vulnerable to disasters and impacts of climate change. Amidst and beyond COVID, building back through ‘business as usual’ approaches would mean that the country would not enhance its resilience to face significant climate and disaster risks which could materialize with potentially far worse and massive impacts. including undermining of the socio-economic recovery Whereas, pursuing a greener, sustainable and resilient pathway potentially offers massive economic, social and environmental benefits through the creation of inclusive more (green) businesses and jobs, and the strengthening of resilience – encompassing health, social, environmental and economic resilience – of the population and the sectors. This would contribute to both more resilient value chains and economic recovery, while strengthening climate and disaster resilience, which could address the root causes that made the country and the people vulnerable to impacts of the pandemic in the first place. The question is not if green, but what types of green investments, i.e., based on an analysis of the direct and indirect impacts of the various options to maximize social, economic and environmental benefits
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