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The OECD Green Recovery Database also shows that the USD 336 billion allocated to environmentally positive recovery measures is close to evenly matched by non-green measures (those with negative or “mixed” environmental impacts), for those measures that have a monetary value.
But this proportion does not imply that the green measures therein are sufficient to enable transformation towards long-term climate and environmental objectives.
Especially given that the billions allocated to green investment may be counteracted by ongoing support to environmentally harmful activities.
What’s more, the remaining two thirds of recovery spending that has not yet been categorised as environmentally impactful cannot be considered environmentally benign.
Tracking progress
The database focuses on measures related to COVID-19 economic recovery efforts with clear positive, negative or “mixed” environmental impacts across one or several environmental categories.
It contains around 680 national-level measures with environmental relevance, spread over 43 countries and the European Union, and covers a range of environmental impacts beyond just energy and climate, and includes pollution (air, plastics), water, biodiversity, and waste management.
For one thing, we need to walk the talk. Green recovery measures are still a small component of total COVID-19 spending (only 2% of the USD 14 billion rescue and recovery spending combined) and significant funds are still allocated to measures with likely environmentally negative impacts.
For another, we need to align across policies and sectors, and over time. The uneven spread of measures across sectors points to missed opportunities in this respect, which could help drive sustainability and transformation in key sectors, such as agriculture, waste management and forestry.
Finally, we need to invest in skills and innovation. The relatively few measures focused on skills training and on innovation point to an opportunity to direct more attention to measures that can drive sustainable job creation, notably in industries likely to be negatively affected, to ensure a “just transition”.
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Through a green recovery, governments have the opportunity to unleash innovation, undertake wider reaching and fundamental restructuring of critical sectors, accelerate existing environmental plans, and make use of environmentally sustainable project pipelines. The current outlook for a period of relatively low oil prices also offers an ideal opportunity to scale up carbon pricing and reform fossil fuel subsidies. Delivering a green recovery is vital for tackling the urgent and interconnected challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Initial analysis suggests that governments have so far concentrated their green measures in the energy and surface-transport sectors. But other sectors - such as industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management - are equally important for a green and resilient recovery.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, an increasing number of oil and gas companies have set out ambitious goals to transition to “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050. What is driving these pledges, even at a time of severe financial stress for the sector? And what implications could they have for governments’ economic recovery measures and, ultimately, for the Paris Agreement ?
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Renewable energy is estimated to employ more people per unit of investment and energy than fossil fuel generation, and could potentially employ more than 40 million people by 2050. If the international community utilises its full renewable energy potential, energy sector employment could reach 100 million by 2050, up from around 58 million today.
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Investments in infrastructure, notably major transport-related infrastructure, have major implications for the environment. Stimulus packages and investment programmes can ensure that infrastructure resources are aligned with longer-term goals on climate, biodiversity, water and waste management, and resource efficiency.
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Decarbonisation keeps climate change in check and contributes to cleaner air and water. Countries can price CO2-emissions to decarbonise their economies and steer them along a carbon-neutral growth path. But are countries using this tool to its full potential?
This map indicates the carbon pricing of CO2 emissions from energy use in 42 OECD and G20 countries, covering 80% of world emissions. It shows that only 10 of the countries were pricing carbon at even half the EUR 60 per tonne benchmark (bright green on the map), which is a mid-range estimate of the real cost of CO2 emissions for 2020 and a low-end estimate for 2030. If a country does not price any carbon emissions from energy use, it is shown in dark brown in the map.
It is estimated that an increase in the effective carbon rate of EUR 1 per tonne of CO2 leads on average to a 0.73% reduction in emissions over time. Increasing the price of fuels that are high in carbon can encourage energy users to go for low or zero-carbon options. A commitment to carbon prices also creates certainty for investors that it pays to invest in low-carbon technologies.
Leveraging investment for infrastructure is a critical pillar of the low-carbon transition. Around USD 6.3 trillion of annual investment is needed until 2030 in energy, transport, water and telecommunications infrastructure, to sustain growth and increase well-being.
In recent years, trillions of dollars in capital have flowed into investments that are assessed using environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
ESG criteria have helped raise awareness and strengthen corporate and investor commitments, but more work is urgently needed to ensure that ESG ratings are fit for purpose. Today’s ESG markets contain a huge variety – and at times divergence – in methodologies, performance metrics and product structures. There is still much to be done to make ESG investing fairer, more transparent and more efficient.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need to consider resilience in finance – not just in the financial system itself, but the role of capital and investors in making economic and social systems more dynamic and able to withstand external shocks. These include risks associated with climate change, which, beyond the pandemic, are perhaps the most pressing challenges to financial stability and resilience.
From air and water pollution to climate, agriculture and the circular economy, this collection focuses on all of the dimensions of the environment, environmental health and sustainability. It pulls together OECD analysis and data spanning a multitude of sectors and issues, many of which are being challenged in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.