Covid-19 has quickly exposed the fragility in the global economic system. While it is too soon to understand the full economic impact of the disease outbreak, what is clear is that this will not be a one-off. The total number and diversity of outbreaks, and their severity, have increased significantly since 1980. And this trend is set to continue for two main reasons.

First, urbanisation is increasingly bringing humans and animals into closer proximity. Eight hundred million more people are likely to move to cities between now and 2030, and in the process, two million hectares of arable land will be lost.