Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

4-2021

Abstract

As the pandemic forced the entire world to a virtual standstill, nature revived a little. The US emitted 10.3% less CO2 in 2020 than in 2019 and other regions similarly experienced emission declines. Depending on the source, global carbon emissions were down between 4 and 8% in 2020.2 Consumers globally have expressed more concern about sustainability, an observation confirmed by large survey research by Accenture, Kantar, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Ipsos.3 In its latest Emissions Gap Report4 , the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) explicitly connected the pandemic to climate change, nature loss, and pollution. Besides the acceleration of business digitalisation with the move to work-from-home, the pandemic has created a shift in how we think and talk about sustainability. Our thesis is that digitalisation and sustainability are converging and that new digital technologies will empower novel sustainability solutions that may help avoid the worst of climate change.

Keywords

COVID-19, pandemics, digital sustainability, digitisation, climate change

Discipline

Finance and Financial Management | Public Health | Strategic Management Policy | Sustainability | Technology and Innovation

Research Areas

Strategy and Organisation

Publication

Macroeconomic Review

Volume

XX

Issue

1

First Page

103

Last Page

109

ISSN

0219-8908

Publisher

Monetary Authority of Singapore

Embargo Period

5-25-2021

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://www.mas.gov.sg/publications/macroeconomic-review/2021/volume-xx-issue-1-apr-2021

Download

Share

COinS