1. Introduction The global pandemic revealed how  underprepared the world is for systemic shocks,  including the rapidly escalating environmental  crises. Even before COVID-19, the world was  already off-track to meet global commitments to  a greener and fairer future. And the pandemic,  alongside spiralling levels of conflict, triggered  major setbacks in key gender equality indicators. 

Globally, women have lost their jobs at higher rates  than men and are recovering them more slowly,  while gender gaps in extreme poverty have grown  wider.1 At the same time, the world continues to be  far behind in urgent efforts to limit the increase  in the global average temperature to below  1.5 degrees Celsius, while also struggling in the  present to prioritize environmental conservation  and adequately respond to one climate-related  disaster after another.2 The Aichi targets were also  not reached, failing to protect or conserve 17 per  cent of all land and inland waters and 10 per cent  of the ocean by 2020.3