United Nations Secretary-General António Gutteres has released a six-point plan for world leaders designing COVID-19 stimulus packages, which demands that bold climate action be entrenched into all aspects of recovery.
“Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return,” Mr Guterres warned in a hard-hitting address timed to coincide with Earth Day.
“We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption.”
Recovery packages should deliver new jobs and businesses that can drive a clean energy transition, Mr Guterres argued, adding that business bailouts must be contingent on their ability to create green jobs and drive sustainable growth.
Fiscal firepower must drive a “shift from the grey to green economy”, he added, in a bid to build more resilient infrastructure and economic models.
In a blow to the fossil fuel industry, the Secretary-General said public funds should be used to “invest in the future, not the past” and funnelled into sustainable sectors that help tackle environmental and climate challenges.
Fossil fuel subsidies must end and polluters must pay for their emissions, he added, reiterating previous calls for support for fossil fuel industries to be drastically scaled back.
In addition, Mr Guterres is to argue that the financial system must be reworked urgently to incorporate climate risks and opportunities, and that climate considerations should feature in “all aspects of public policy-making and infrastructure”.
Finally, Mr Guterres urged all leaders to work together as an international community, noting that “greenhouse gases, just like viruses, do not respect national boundaries”.
“The current crisis is an unprecedented wake-up call,” he explained.
“We need to turn the recovery into a real opportunity to do things right for the future.”
Mr Guterres’ intervention echoes calls from a growing band of business and political leaders around the world for climate action to play an integral role in the planned wave of economic stimulus packages.
Mr Guterres’ speech comes on the same day as the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) prepared to release its final report on the Global Climate 2015-2019 , which is set to confirm that a raft of extreme weather records have been toppled in recent years.
“Whilst COVID-19 has caused a severe international health and economic crisis, failure to tackle climate change may threaten human well-being, ecosystems, and economies for centuries,” said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas.
“We need to show the same determination and unity against climate change as against COVID-19, and act together in the interests of the health and welfare of humanity not just for the coming weeks and months, but for many generations ahead.”
Tom Sanzillo, director of finance at financial think tank IEEFA, has said the economic case for green stimulus plans was hugely compelling.
“The business model for the oil and gas industry is financially broken,” he said.
“The entire industry has been a last-in-class performer for most of the past decade.
“The demand freeze brought on by the coronavirus brings into sharp relief the need for a new business model, and heightened the importance of realigning government and industry interests.
“Today renewable energy, electric vehicles, plastics recycling, home heating demand-side initiatives, new efficiency models and laws restricting fossil fuel use compete with industry growth scenarios.
“Even as energy demand grows, the markets that serve that demand are expanding beyond the fossil fuel industry,” he added.
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