UN: Climate short-changed in recovery

Nations are spending unprecedented amounts of money to bounce back from the pandemic and the economic shock it triggered, but less than one dollar out of five spent so far will help fight global warming and heal nature, a new United Nations report says.

The top economies have laid out more than US$14.6 trillion ($20.3t) to date to rebound from last year’s crisis, with nearly US$2t of that aimed at long-term recovery. But only US$341 billion — about 18 per cent — of that recovery money is going to green spending, according to yesterday’s report by the UN Environment Programme and Oxford University.

“It seems like the world is trying to put out a house fire with a garden hose, while a perfectly good hydrant is available just next door,” said report lead author Brian O’Callaghan of the Oxford University’s Economic Recovery Project.

He said the report highlights missed opportunities, singling out Australia where only 2 per cent of US$130b in recovery spending is green-oriented.

The report came out the same day that the United States Congress approved a US$1.9t pandemic rescue plan engineered by President Joe Biden, who plans to sign the bill on Saturday. It is not included in the report because it is more short-term and too recent, O’Callaghan said.

“On the whole so far global green spending does not match the severity of the three planetary crises of climate change, nature loss and pollution,” wrote UN Environment chief Inger Andersen.