Now Is The Time To Beat The Climate Crisis With New Energy

The pandemic won't fix the climate crisis. This $3 trillion recovery plan could

Charles Riley, June 18, 2020 (CNN)

“…[The International Energy Agency] is calling on governments to invest $3 trillion in a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic...[Its blueprint] recommends governments spend big over the next three years on technology and infrastructure projects to create millions of jobs and make 2019 the definitive peak in global emissions…The collapse in travel and other activity triggered by pandemic lockdowns could slash carbon emissions this year by a record amount. But they're already rising fast again as economies begin to open up…

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Failure to act now risks a repeat of the aftermath the 2008 global financial crisis, when governments did not prioritize stimulus spending on climate, allowing CO2 emissions to bounce back…[Governments should] overhaul electricity grids, upgrade hydropower facilities, promote electric cars, extend the life of nuclear power plants and retrofit buildings to make them more energy efficient…[Taking these and a large array of other actions] would cut 4.5 billion tonnes out of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2023 and put the world on a path to achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement…

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[It] would also help the global economy bounce back from its worst downturn since the 1930s…[D]irecting stimulus money to fighting the climate crisis would save or create 9 million jobs and boost global economic output by 1.1 percentage points each year…[Among the countries that have delayed decisions on clean energy are] Chile, China, Germany, Ireland and Portugal…[But Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden] have used the crisis to push ahead with climate initiatives…” click here for more

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