nstern10_STEFAN ROUSSEAUPOOLAFP via Getty Images_g7 Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Investment Imperative for the G7

Rich-country governments should be prepared to invest an additional $1 trillion per year to boost growth and lay strong foundations for a green industrial revolution. But their economies will recover fully only if they also mobilize finance and foster investment in emerging markets and developing countries.

LONDON – At the upcoming G7 summit in Cornwall, the major economies’ leaders have a critical opportunity to agree on a plan that not only drives a strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for their own countries, but also speeds the transition to a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient global economy.

A key lesson that I trust G7 governments have learned from COVID-19 is how exposed and vulnerable every country is to global threats, including infectious diseases, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The challenges to well-being and prosperity highlighted by the pandemic are all interconnected, so we need an integrated approach to tackling them. The G7 has a special responsibility to lead here.

Rich-country leaders will understandably focus on the health of their own economies, which are showing signs of a rapid rebound. But they should recognize the need for significantly increased investment over the next decade to enable strong and sustained growth, and to respond to climate change and the loss of natural capital, including biodiversity. Countries should not repeat the mistake of the post-pandemic “Roaring Twenties” a century ago by focusing primarily on consumption.

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