Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Corona stimulus plans overlook 'historic' chance for climate crisis
The COVID-19 outbreak has sent countries scrambling to avert economic disaster. Yet in a time of climate change, none appear to be prioritizing clean energy plans. DW spoke with experts to find out why.
2020 is meant to be a pivotal year in global efforts to turn the tide on climate change, but the coronavirus is threatening to throw a spanner in the works.
Just 18 months ago, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the world was way off course in its efforts to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
Paradoxically, the coronavirus catastrophe has given the world an idea of how quickly pollution could be reined in with extreme measures. The first few months of the year have seen an abrupt drop in CO2 emissions, with the COVID-19 outbreak temporarily shutting down industrial activity and grounding flights in large parts of Asia, Europe and North America.
Even though experts warn these effects won't last long, some, like Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, are fervently appealing to governments to use this "historic opportunity" to include renewable energy in their stimulus plans to offset an economic recession of historic proportions.
"This is the perfect time for a Green New Deal, a scaling up of clean, renewable energy and for a scaling up of low-carbon essential jobs such as home care workers, teachers, nurses, public health professionals, and service workers," Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the US Climate Action Network, told DW.
So why aren't governments talking about taking the leap?
Focus on 'economic survival' In an effort to head off the looming economic crisis, panicked world leaders have opened the financial floodgates.
China is preparing to inject trillions of yuan to rekindle its economy, the US has proposed a $1 trillion (€915 billion) stimulus package and the European Cen