'Building back better': social justice in the green economy

As the world faces an unprecedented economic crisis, governments have adopted various stimulus plans to speed up the recovery. This article examines how the fight against poverty can be combined with the search for a development model that mitigates climate change and halts the erosion of biodiversity. The transformation also needs to strengthen the rights of people living in poverty. In specific areas, such as energy, buildings, food or mobility, ‘triple-dividend’ actions can be taken that would reduce the ecological footprint while simultaneously creating employment opportunities for people with low levels of qualification and facilitating access to goods and services essential to the enjoyment of human rights. Such actions should be underpinned by a different development model that places the fight against inequalities above the exclusive focus on economic growth. ‘Building back better’ entails taking public action towards the eradication of poverty within planetary boundaries