Director of Nature and Biodiversity Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended every aspect of life and has cast a shadow over the global business and economic outlook.

According to the International Monetary Fund forecast, the global economy is expected to shrink by 4.9%, and the prospects for recovery in most countries remain uncertain.

China is no exception: GDP contracted by 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020, while the urban unemployment rate hit a record high of 5.9% in May 2020. As countries and economic groups around the world prepare for a post-pandemic world, China is bound to formulate a new economic development model to avoid such crises in the future.

This is not a new normal to which we can adapt, but a real threat to overcome.

If companies can set ambitious goals, coupled with bold strategic action, they can help humanity through this crisis. Research from the University of Oxford shows that a green recovery package can not only create higher economic benefits, but also provide the necessary financial support to promote research and innovation, strengthen infrastructure and skills training, and develop a robust and effective institutional framework to help For a better world that is fairer, more resilient, more sustainable and accessible to all.

For example, the Natural Forest Conservation Project aims to invest more than 400 billion yuan ($57 billion) to protect 129 million hectares of forest and reduce the risk of flooding and soil erosion. The Return Farmland to Forest and Grassland project encourages farmers to plant trees and restore grasslands, restore degraded farmland, and pays them a fee. China's ecological protection red line is a very pragmatic spatial planning action initiative that comprehensively combines nature protection, restoration and sustainable management. This policy plan began in 2011 and was fully implemented after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It aims to cover no less than a quarter of mainland China and will provide experience for other countries.

The importance of private sector action

Government action alone is not enough, the private sector must also invest and innovate. The Future of Nature and Business report provides a practical blueprint for businesses to lead a green recovery.

Specifically, the report identifies 15 systemic transformations across three major socioeconomic systems. These transformations are expected to create $10.1 trillion in business opportunities and 395 million jobs annually by 2030. These three systems—food, land and ocean use systems, infrastructure and built environment systems, and energy and extraction systems—have the greatest impact on the state of natural loss and the most to benefit from the process.

Among these transformations is the implementation of a nature-benefit energy transformation, which is of particular significance for China to achieve its latest renewable energy goals. For example, Elion Group has built a comprehensive business development system based on ecological restoration. It has not only established one of the largest photovoltaic power plants in China, but also developed animal husbandry, ecotourism, and medicinal plant cultivation and utilization. Soil performance, while creating new revenue streams for the company. With the support of a complete set of technologies, the company has successfully rehabilitated nearly 650,000 hectares of land in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia, achieving both economic and social benefits.

Chinese enterprises can follow the concept of ecological civilization and develop into strong natural leaders. Business leaders must identify the transformations that are most relevant to their organizations and identify the factors that will drive success—including multi-stakeholder partnerships, innovative investment and financing models, and smart technologies. Chinese companies are leading the transformation process, piloting a number of new technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and 3D printing. There is a huge opportunity for Chinese companies to scale up technology adoption and drive adoption of nature-benefit economies and business models.

crucial moment

UN Deputy Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin pointed out: "Unlike the sudden outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss is the result of a long-term slow development, and its trend is more difficult to reverse. The above crisis also shows that before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, In a world where we have failed to take effective measures to compensate for the price humankind has paid for economic growth and social development. We cannot afford to go back.”