S&P Global Ratings have released a report on how sustainable finance will continue to aid in solving the economic issues that have resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report, entitled “Sustainable Finance Addresses Social Justice As COVID-19 Raises The Stakes” states that early in the pandemic, the coronavirus was seen as the “great leveller”, affecting people of all socio-economic backgrounds. However, it is now becoming apparent that Covid-19 is “the great divider”, further highlighting the structural inequalities between richer and poorer nations and people – leading to demands for social justice.
“The pandemic has become a health crisis that also has huge ramifications for social justice that will dominate social, political, and economic agendas for years to come,” said S&P Global Ratings analyst Lori Shapiro in the report.
The key takeaways from the report include:
- Economic shocks from the pandemic have widened existing inequities around the world, leading to calls for greater social justice in dealing with this health threat.
- Poorer people, minorities, and women are suffering disproportionately from growing health, housing, income, and education gaps under measures to contain Covid-19 that could set them back for years to come.
- To fund programs to address the problem, governments, supranationals, and corporations, among others, have accelerated issuance of sustainable instruments–including social bonds, where issuance jumped nearly four times so far this year to $71.9 billion from the 2019 level.
- We think the sustainable debt market, partly because of the rapid rise in social bond issuance, could exceed $500 billion this year.
For more information and to read the report in full click here.
