ABSTRACT
Sustainable development, finance and related global policies and mechanisms have evolved over the decades. Today, regional initiatives for classifying sustainable activities exist, and several decades' research and development of ecosystem services and natural capital have identified and tested alternative economic models. The World Bank has the potential to finance them and sustainability at the landscape scale is achievable. But economic and environmental values can come into conflict. In developing countries, sustainable alternatives exist in business activities such as coastal and marine tourism. Financing small businesses through sound digital infrastructure is critical, as is the use of public fiscal instruments for the sustainable use of natural resources. Despite its developed status, renewable energy policies in the EU are leading to forest destruction. Financial vehicles such as green bonds have a similar potential. To avoid greenwashing, more focus needs to be on meeting the needs of those at the base of the economic pyramid, resourcing them with smart technologies and valuing civic engagement. Climate finance must be ethical and its allocation have integrity;this will foster community resilience. To avoid repeating the mistakes of terrestrial development, the world's oceans need to be protected and new business models adopted in this expanding frontier. Now is the time for all sectors to create a sustainable future for the planet and its inhabitants in the post-COVID, postcarbon era to come. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.
ABSTRACT
Digitalisation has changed the delivery patterns of financial services all over the world. On August 26, 2020, the United Nations launched a task force with a mandate of catalysing and recommending ways to harness digital finance to accelerate the required finance for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Digital finance has become a lifeline for billions of people to survive and to ensure financial sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social safety nets involving cash transfers through digital payments have become convenient and they enable governments to mobilise funds for emergency relief. A number of developing countries, like Bangladesh, have done tremendously well in managing the pandemic, thanks to the use of digital financing that has delivered financial services through digital platforms, including the uptake of mobile money and other payment platforms. It is also helping to channel more resources to support all SDGs through different paths. This chapter will discuss the prominent role of digital finance and its operational mechanism to finance SDGs. The outcome of the research will be to provide an assessment of digitalisation in accelerating SDGs finance so that policymakers can take some necessary actions to ensure the effective implementation of digital finance for financial sustainability. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.
ABSTRACT
Adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection have been extensively characterized in blood; however, most functions of protective immunity must be accomplished in tissues. Here, we report from examination of SARS-CoV-2 seropositive organ donors (ages 10 to 74) that CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and B cell memory generated in response to infection is present in the bone marrow, spleen, lung, and multiple lymph nodes (LNs) for up to 6 months after infection. Lungs and lung-associated LNs were the most prevalent sites for SARS-CoV-2specific memory T and B cells with significant correlations between circulating and tissue-resident memory T and B cells in all sites. We further identified SARS-CoV-2specific germinal centers in the lung-associated LNs up to 6 months after infection. SARS-CoV-2specific follicular helper T cells were also abundant in lung-associated LNs and lungs. Together, the results indicate local tissue coordination of cellular and humoral immune memory against SARS-CoV-2 for site-specific protection against future infectious challenges.