In his speech to the UN Special General Assembly on December 4, 2020, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus called for strong leadership of nations to end the pandemic and build the post-pandemic world.
In his words, “a vaccine will help to end the pandemic but will not address the vulnerabilities that lie at its root – such as poverty, hunger, inequality and climate change”.
The World Health Organisation is not the only global body making impassioned pleas for nations to uphold the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a matter of urgency for the long-term preservation of the planet and the health of its people.
When asked recently about what lessons can be learnt from previous disease outbreaks, World Bank researchers emphatically warned of two risks: underestimating the cost of pandemics and falling back into a familiar cycle of panic and neglect instead of addressing the root causes.
Preparing against such panic and neglect is the ‘One Health Approach’ advocated by the WHO, interconnecting the health of humans, animals and the environment.
Adopted in 2015, the 17 SDGs provide an international framework to move towards more equitable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous societies by 2030 while preserving the planet’s sustainability.
But as a third of that timeline has passed, the story is one of insufficient progress amid worrying signs of a regressive impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Poverty, hunger, disease, unsafe water and sanitation, gender inequality and lack of access to education are the SDGs particularly affected, made worse by the fact that many countries are off track to meet most of the environmental sustainability goals.
The pandemic has so far cost millions of people their livelihoods, plunged the global economy into its sharpest downturn for a century and widened geopolitical cracks. It is therefore essential that the SDGs remain top priority for all nations and the international community at large, underpinning the ‘One Health Approach’ as the pertinent strategy for a healthier and safer future.
But, again quoting Ghebreyesus: “True preparedness is not just a job of science; it requires an all-of-government and all-of-society approach.” These are massive challenges at global and national levels and Malta also has its SDG agenda to fulfil.
Traffic, pollution, waste, population changes, urbanisation, lack of planning vision and ill-thought development are all putting a load on Malta’s sustainability. They impact our way of life and are realistically more within our range of control than climate change.
Are we realistic about the accommodation stock we are financing and the numbers and quality needed to fill it?
While one can place primary responsibility at the door of the government, economic development must also be backed by clear actions from policymakers, bankers and financiers; not least because sustainability challenges require that the finance sector leads the charge to adapt and promote new economic and business models.
Banks must help businesses transition away from practices that undermine SDG targets, setting the example through their own operations and by providing incentives and expertise.
When financing certain infrastructure and property projects that may appear to have everything going for them, we need to ask the question more often: in terms of overall townscape planning, building stock, impact on aesthetics and general way of life, what will this leave for the future generations?
Bankers need to be concerned about the sustainability of the industries they support, ensuring that these adhere to responsible consumption and decent work standards.
The pandemic is also a wake-up call for key industries like tourism and hospitality. Are the product and service offerings to our visitors always attractive, competitive and delivering value for money?
Are we realistic about the accommodation stock we are financing and the numbers and quality needed to fill it?
The finance sector is also well-positioned to inspire a new generation of leaders who will make sustainability their mainstream thinking and business owners to rethink how they measure and report shareholder value in terms of sustainable investment.
Financial inclusion is ultimately crucial to many of the SDGs since it helps promote money savviness, gender equality and improve standards of living.
Recently, I heard it said that health is the docking station for the SDGs since it enables societies to develop and flourish. If the pandemic has brought out one outstanding truth, it is that a health crisis is not just a health crisis: it is a social, economic, political and humanitarian crisis of bottomless proportions.
There was never greater urgency to be genuinely concerned about our legacy for future generations and for political and financial leaders to realise that pandemics and sustainability are pans on the same scales.
Marcel Cassar, CEO of APS Bank plc and ex chairman of the Malta Bankers’ Association