Climate Change Policies And COVID-19 Relief Are Not Mutually Exclusive
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The Journal Makronom, based in Germany, recently published a piece co-authored by Economist Willi Semmler, director of SCEPA’s Economics of Climate Change project, on COVID-19 and climate change.
The piece argues that government programs responding to—or aiming to prevent another—COVID-19 economic crisis should also shift the globe to renewable energies and a greener economy.
The authors recommend using the economic restart as an opportunity to direct government funding to climate-friendly companies or to projects supporting the transition to a green economy. Projects like this include renewable public transport or shipping systems, climate-neutral agriculture, and collective borrowing initiatives among countries. The paper recommends collective climate funding through Corona Bonds, which eliminate the danger of economically weaker countries going further into debt or not participating in a green transition for economic reasons.