Green Approaches to COVID-19 Recovery: Policy Note for Parliamentarians

“Green approaches to COVID-19 recovery: Policy note for parliamentarians,” is a joint publication of UNEP and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The note guides states in developing environmentally-conscious legal responses to the effects of COVID-19. It specifically targets parliamentarians, who play a key role in the COVID-19 emergency and recovery processes through their legislative and policy oversight functions. The note highlights practical legislative approaches towards an environmentally-sustainable economic recovery, with corresponding best practices at national and regional levels. Such approaches include clean energy, circularity, just transition to green jobs and environmental rule of law among others. Adoption of these approaches will safeguard environmental protection as a key element of states’ COVID-19 response, and ensure a green pandemic recovery as is recommended by UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2020. Parliamentarians are encouraged to examine more best practices on the UNEP and IPU websites, and to share examples of their national legislative response with press@ipu.org , in order to foster the sharing of lessons learned.