![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() That means clean energy, such as wind and solar power, and energy efficiency. “Focus on what we already know works,” said Birol. Leading economists are hopeful, however, that those mistakes can be avoided and that the world will turn to “build back better” instead of pouring resources into fossil fuels. It’s very important that we put policies in place that help to create jobs and stimulate a clean energy transition.” “I am afraid there will be a divergence among policymakers – they will see either jobs or climate change. “The gilets jaunes show there is a lesson to learn,” says Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, and one of the most influential global voices on energy economics. Those protests had roots far deeper than just the fuel tax, some extending back to the response to the 2008 financial crisis, but some experts fear they show how green measures can be presented as contrary to working people’s interests. The gilets jaunes protests in France were sparked by a rise in fuel taxes that had a particular impact on poorer workers in rural areas. Yet talking about environmental measures in the midst of an economic crisis may not be popular, and could be seized on by populist opponents of climate action. If we do things that leave stranded assets, we also have stranded jobs.” Putting money into the fossil fuel economy would be a waste, he added. And we know more about air pollution, and how many people it kills.” We have altogether superior electric vehicle technology. We have seen the costs of key technologies such as renewable energy come right down. This time can be different, argues Lord Nicholas Stern, one of the world’s leading climate economists and author of the landmark 2006 review of the costs of climate change. But the push to cut emissions was stymied by factors such as the sharp fall in the carbon price under the EU’s emissions trading scheme, and China’s construction push. The economic stimulus in the years after 2008 did produce some environmental improvements such as investments in renewable energy, which have cut the cost of solar and wind power. Marmot is one of the leading voices calling for a “green recovery” that would direct any economic stimulus towards measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as generating jobs and repairing the economy. Enough people are saying now that austerity is not an experiment we want to repeat.” If we are not careful, the steps we take now will increase inequalities further. “We need to bring the climate agenda and the health agenda together. “The scale of what is happening in the economy now is hugely greater than in 2008,” he told the Guardian. To avoid a similar outcome this time, leaders must ensure their response to the Covid-19 crisis looks to the good of the whole of society, rather than just the economy, and addresses the climate emergency as well, said Sir Michael Marmot, who led the landmark UK review of public health that found life expectancy fell following austerity. ![]() The rise came despite some efforts to “green” the post financial crisis recovery, with low-carbon and environmental measures accounting for about 16% of the stimulus. Greenhouse gas emissions have also risen, despite warnings from scientists and the Paris agreement of 2015, threatening an even worse crisis if governments do not rapidly change tack. But the past decade has produced far greater levels of inequality than has been seen since before the second world war, producing starker contrasts between the extremely rich and the rest in health, job security, education and other measures, with poorer people suffering worst and the middle classes squeezed while the income of the top 1% soared. ![]()
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