Sustainable economics & policy

Green Recovery

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

A green recovery is a package of environmental, regulatory, and fiscal reforms intended to restore prosperity after an economic crisis — such as the 2008 financial crisis or the COVID-19 recession — while also benefiting the environment. Typical measures support renewable energy, energy efficiency, nature-based solutions, sustainable transport, green innovation, and green jobs, with the explicit aim that action against recession also acts against climate change.

References

OECD Environment FocusGreening the recovery from COVID-19 (≥USD 14 trillion announced by early 2021; OECD Green Recovery Database assesses measures' environmental impact)

policy context and tracking

WikipediaGreen recovery (recovery packages intending economic recovery with environmental benefit; supported by UN and OECD; tracking initiatives)

definition and scope

Overview

What it means

Crises force governments to spend fast and big; green recovery argues that this spending either locks in the old economy or builds the new one. After COVID-19, tracking initiatives — the OECD Green Recovery Database, Oxford's Global Recovery Observatory, and the Energy Policy Tracker — assessed how green announced packages actually were, finding green measures a minority of the trillions committed.

How it is used

The concept framed post-2020 stimulus design (notably the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility climate-spending requirements) and remains the template for any future crisis response.

Why it matters

Recovery spending is among the largest discretionary investments governments ever make; its colour shapes the economy for decades.