Greener on the other side
5 minute read
Whether or not you agree with their methods, protest movements such as Extinction Rebellion have been very effective at keeping the Climate Crisis in the mainstream media and therefore in the minds of the general public; as an optimist, I hope that the pandemic can do similar for highlighting how dependent we are on our environment for so many of the aspects of life we take for granted – from the food we eat to the open spaces we relax in and small businesses that service our local communities. ‘Local’ is the operative word here, as consumers our collective purchasing power and behaviours can reshape our post-pandemic economy so long as we are able to keep what, how and where we consume in the forefront of our minds. Strengthening local and even regional production and consumption will build resilience into our economic systems, helping protect them against future shocks. Our choices also have the power to augment these systems, nudging them away from a linear economy, towards a circular one where resources can be preserved and reused and where we live within the means of the planet thus ensuring there is more to go around for everyone.
So what could a Green Recovery look like? To me, the equation we need to solve is actually pretty straight forward. On one side there are millions of people out of work (either furloughed or laid off) that are looking to rebuild their livelihoods; on the other side we have (and have had for some time) a huge number of new jobs that need filling and even whole industries that need creating, all to support the shift to a low-carbon circular economy. People need to be retrained, technologies must be developed and companies need to repoint their operations and reengineer their supply chains. Recovery packages must be aimed at stimulating the industries and jobs we so urgently need to facilitate the move to a greener economy. Even incentives that augment our existing industries so they become greener (like emissions linked airline bailouts) would be better in the long term than pumping in funds to support the status quo, keeping the economy in a kind of stasis so it can lumber back into (the old normal) life when it is safe to do so. Simples? Yes. Straight forward to implement, obviously not. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres explains this nicely in his interview with the BBC.
This is a fast moving topic so I won’t go into too much detail that risks becoming quickly obsolete, but as we mentioned last month, the brightest light here is the European Green Deal (more on this in a moment). Given the rate at which the ironically named Environmental Protection Agency are repealing Obama era air pollution and vehicle emissions legislation it’s safe to say the US are not on this page, plus their bailout is heavily fossil fuel focused (it doesn’t take a genius to notice that who is trying to appeal to the US energy sector in an election year). So far, Asia seems to be somewhere in the middle but are clearly dominated by China whose bailout also favours the fossil fuel sector.
Last week, 35 environment ministers from across the world convened virtually for the 11th Petersberg Climate Dialogue. They listened to leaders from the UK, Germany (the co-hosts), the EU and the UN all delivering rallying cries for nations to focus on climate mitigation as a means to stimulate economies post-pandemic.
I could fill a whole blog on its own with quotes from leaders, EU/UN executives and Think Tanks who spoke at the Dialogue on the importance of the Green Recovery, but I’ll restrain myself to just one, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres again:
“Public funds should invest in the future by flowing to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and climate. Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and carbon must have a price so polluters will pay for their pollution… Where taxpayers’ money is used to rescue businesses, it must be creating green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth…It must not be bailing out outdated, polluting, carbon-intensive industries.”
Though the European Green Deal was launched back at COP25 it will provide the foundation of Europe’s green recovery strategy. Headlines of the €1tr plan include a 50-55% emissions reduction target for 2030; a climate law to reach net-zero emissions by 2050; a transition fund worth €100bn and a series of new sector policies to ensure all industries are able to decarbonise. In late March and in response to the pandemic, EU executives began preparing a “comprehensive recovery plan that integrates into the existing green and digital transitions” – in early May they launched a public consultation (open until 15th July) on the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy, which builds on the European Commissions 2018 Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth and the reports from the Technical Expert Group.