Here’s why the world’s recovery from COVID-19 could be doughnut shaped

Progress on climate action and sustainability could be a significant casualty of the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.

COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and Its Implications warns that "years of progress could be lost through underinvestment in infrastructure adaptation, withdrawals from previous commitments and weaker climate activism".

It also raises the alarm bell on a potential vicious cycle of "continued environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and further zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks”.

But incorporating green programmes into recovery plans presents an opportunity to rebuild better, changing the way industries operate. The Netherlands' biggest city offers an example of how this might work in practice.

An order of doughnuts

Amsterdam is embracing the so-called doughnut, an economic model that envisions “a world in which people and planet can thrive in balance”.

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