Foreword by the Task Force Chair

We are at the beginning of a possible recovery phase and as we share a renewed sense of safety and trust, the real challenge for all of us is to make this recovery solid, inclusive and sustainable for at least the next ten years. All Taskforce members, whom I thank for their focus and dedication, challenged themselves and tried to imagine “How will the world look like in 2031?”. Glimpsing ahead at future societies, we tried to envision how should policymakers manage to reverse or make significant progress in tackling inequality, excessive indebtedness by mobilizing savings, and technology reshaping. Job losses, poverty, growing social inequalities, indebtedness, fragility have hit hard on vulnerable people, women, young and old people and students. The pandemic has enhanced the relevance of well-planned ESG transitions and triggered deglobalization trends, thus accelerating the importance of a technology reshape and of investing in material and immaterial infrastructure. The pandemic has rapidly elevated some industries – especially in the technology sector - while pushing other ones to revisit their fundamental viability and, overall, it has enhanced the way we take care of the needs of our people, our territories and our customers, by increasing our drive to do things better, both domestically and globally, notably over climate, diversity, equity and inclusion. Impact investing within a sustainable framework - and one that is ESG compliant - is increasingly becoming the reference point of all involved long-term stakeholders acting with a purpose, focused as they are in having welfare not only not declining, but actually growing over time. In line with these trends, we need to make a decisive shift towards a new model of capitalism with a greater focus on sustainability, social and territorial cohesion. This is our responsibility towards the future generations. It is time to make things happen: a further reason to have actionable proposals for sustainable infrastructure, including healthcare, research, education and people care. This is becoming more relevant post pandemic, for everybody. For this, we need a Recovery Impact Plan to foster inclusiveness and address the social aspects of growth and their impact on inequality. This is the purpose of the B20 Italy Finance & Infrastructure Taskforce that I’m honoured to guide. “Quality of life through service Infrastructure” is the very game changer; this is the real role of sustainable infrastructure investment for the recovery. “Quality of life through service Infrastructure” means investments in amenities, hospitals, mobility and transport, road maintenance, efficient telecommunication networks, schools and education to ensure healthy lives and to promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Urban Regeneration is a key driver for the post-Covid recovery: I think that it has become urgent to fulfil a vision for sustainable metropolitan areas as places where citizens - an intergenerational mix of families, workers, students, senior people - can live locally, with everything they need just a short walk or a bike ride away. Proximity - everyday closeness to people - is a value because it enables the possibility of “taking care of others”. Our Taskforce journey can be summarized in three words: from Purpose to Impact and Execution. Every day, governments, social communities, workers, corporates, entrepreneurs, supply chain and sectors leaders - all together – should be guided by a common purpose of “doing well by doing good”, tackling inequalities by “taking care of others” for a very New Renaissance. Our B20 Taskforce has structured four pillars as the drivers for the post-Covid recovery: (i) Sustainable Finance and Financial Inclusion (ii) Infrastructure Financing, (iii) Growth Engines and (iv) Global Regulatory Environment. Governments and Multilateral Development Banks could consider creating investment-ready pipelines of projects to facilitate the participation of private institutional investors in urban and suburban regeneration investments, focused in particular on increasing infrastructure resilience and improving access to affordable healthcare and transport; this would speed up the ability of investors to make capital allocation choices that support the transition to a sustainable economy. Global financial regulation should take into account the impact of the pandemic crisis on prudential reforms, aiming at increasing regulatory coherence, transparency and accountability and to ensure resiliency from systemic risks. Adriano Olivetti, an historic Italian entrepreneur, wrote “within me there is only the future”, and with this spirit, and in line with the overall commitment of the B20, the Finance & Infrastructure Taskforce has aimed at conveying actionable and impactful recommendations to contribute to shape a brighter future together.

?Sincerely, Carlo Messina