More nature, more jobs? Green investment seen as driver of coronavirus recovery

(Reuters, 17 Jul 2020) Building back greener could create millions of jobs and trillions in economic opportunity, the World Economic Forum says.

In recent decades, Costa Rica has doubled its forest cover while tripling the size of its economy - an example of how better protecting nature can create jobs rather than curb them, the Central American country's environment minister said Wednesday.

"Restoring nature is not a burden to economic development," said Carlos Manuel Rodriguez during an online event organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF), famed for its high-powered annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

If similar shifts - from adopting smarter farming to slashing fossil fuel subsidies and rethinking urban land use - happened globally, they could create 395 million jobs and $10 trillion in new business opportunities by 2030, WEF officials said.

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Reuters, 17 Jul 2020: More nature, more jobs? Green investment seen as driver of coronavirus recovery