By Ustaz Mark Bang
Things that our country should consider before sustaining our economy are things to do with security, embark on agriculture, improve infrastructural facilities and restore the unity of our people.
South Sudan was at war with Sudan; there was no this chronic disunity, manipulation of the little resources, poor political setting, and incitement amongst groups, societies, tribes, or individuals that were nowhere to be seen or experienced.
These are the steps we need to make economic growth sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. Sustainable economic growth, investments, innovation, policy, and finance all play a central role in defining the economic growth model of the 21st century.
- Innovation and system transformation
Much of the fundamental structural change needed lies in transforming the key systems of energy, transport, industry, cities, and land. All require combinations of institutional change, standards and regulation, design, and good policy. Fortunately, revolutions in digital and AI enable the management of these systems in new ways.
There is a growing understanding that the deepening crises facing our country’s economy and the world come from trends in our societies and economies that are becoming unsustainable. We must tackle the basic structural problems at their source. The challenge is to recover and rebuild in a way that creates sustained economic growth and transforms our economies while tackling the social and ecological stresses caused by our current economic models. It is also clear that there is now a new and feasible approach to development across the world, which is much more attractive than the dirty and destructive paths of the past. But the world must invest and act quickly to get there.
- Policies to foster investments, innovation, and a just transition
A big push on investments and innovation requires credible and supportive policy and governance that can create confidence in future returns. Implementing a price on carbon is central to efficiently shifting production and consumption towards lower-carbon sources. Beyond pricing, rapid changes in the use of coal and petrol will require regulatory action to avoid unacceptably steep price hikes. The design of our towns and cities must be re-shaped towards cycling, pedestrian and public, and shared transport. Appropriate actions should also be taken to support a just transition, to ensure that the benefits and opportunities of the shift to a new economy are shared widely while helping those affected by economic losses or dislocation.
The wars and hardening geopolitical divisions we are witnessing underscore the precious opportunity to act together globally on an agenda in which all countries have an overwhelming interest. Technology is enabling the transition to low-carbon energy. The challenge is to recover and rebuild in a way that creates sustained economic growth and transforms our economies while tackling the social and ecological stresses caused by our current economic models. It is also clear that there is now a new and feasible approach to development across the world, which is much more attractive than the dirty and destructive paths of the past. But the world must invest and act quickly to get there. The wars and hardening geopolitical divisions we are witnessing underscore the precious opportunity to act together globally on an agenda in which all countries have an overwhelming interest.
- Investment in the right kinds of capital and infrastructure
The future of people and the planet will be shaped by the capital investments realized over the next 10-20 years—capital that can drive clean, green, job-rich, and much healthier economic growth than what came before. To drive the low-carbon transformation, global investment must increase by around 2–3% of GDP per year above pre-pandemic levels. This investment will be primarily in the private sector, but public investment must complement and catalyze this.
Why do we believe that this is possible? Because investment ratios are far below potential, the energy transformation opens up vast new markets, technology is yielding increasingly high returns, and the world continues to produce excess savings that can feed investments. Investments should not be misperceived as costs. They can propel more efficient, cleaner, and inclusive economic growth and create further private sector opportunities, along with many other significant co-benefits.
- Finance and international cooperation for economic growth
International cooperation around policies, technology, and finance will be crucial to realizing the required big push on investment and innovation if action is to be on time and at scale. Country platforms can provide a focal point and help overcome the main obstacles to greater investments in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), which often include policy and institutional hurdles, a lack of project development capacity, and the absence of reliable channels for large-scale finance.
While many advanced economies have fiscal space or borrowing ability, EMDEs entered the latest crises with high debt and limited resources. Domestic resource mobilization, largely taxes, will have to contribute to incremental finance. But international financial collaboration will be critical.
Net-zero and nature-centred transformation, investment-driven growth and innovation, an inclusive approach to tap human talent while managing insecurity, and a process of international collaboration that fosters common goals—this will be the economic growth story of the 21st century. The private sector will take centre stage, with global investment being 80–90% private. And much of the private sector has, with rapidly increasing scale, committed to sustainability, responsibility, and net-zero emissions toward sustainable and resilient economic growth. We described the path forward in a briefing on challenges facing the debate at the World Economic Forum. Here, we focus on the centrality of investment, innovation, policy, and finance in driving a new economic growth model. Investment in the right kinds of capital and infrastructure. Therefore, if we want to create a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future for all, we must collaborate better on security and infrastructure, create jobs for youth, and lead ways in establishing a strong foundation for durable peace in and out of the country.
There is a growing understanding that the deepening crises facing the world come from trends in our societies and economies that are becoming unsustainable. We must tackle the basic structural problems at their source.
The challenge is to recover and rebuild in a way that creates sustained economic growth and transforms our economies while tackling the social and ecological stresses caused by our current economic models. It is also clear that there is now a new and feasible approach to development across the world, which is much more attractive than the dirty and destructive paths of the past. But the world must invest and act quickly to get there. The wars and hardening geopolitical divisions we are witnessing underscore the precious opportunity to act together globally on an agenda in which all countries have an overwhelming interest. “Public Staunchest Ally.”.
The writer of this article is a human rights activist, writer and professional teacher.