A last-ditch effort is being made to insert clearer green commitments into the global economic recovery package being discussed at the G20 summit tomorrow.
The move comes amid fears that the G20 summit is in danger of missing a unique opportunity to prevent the world from being locked into irreversible and catastrophic climate change.
Some senior British officials privately believe the framing of the G20 stimulus package to ensure it has a large green element will be as decisive in the battle against climate change as the outcome of the UN talks on climate change in Copenhagen.
“I think it [low-carbon recovery] deserves a higher profile. Everybody seems to be focusing on short-term recovery and getting long-term regulation of the banks right.” Professor Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser for DEFRA
Lord Stern, the government’s former climate change adviser, yesterday tried to increase the pressure on the G20 by arguing that the worst recession since the 1930s gave the world the opportunity to lay the foundations for growth over several decades, based on low-carbon technology and energy efficiency.
He said the argument that the first priority was to deal with the current economic crisis and postpone action on climate change was “wrong and should be confronted”.
Opportunity for ‘green’ recovery
Lord Stern called for the G20 leaders to send out a signal that the “difficult” work of getting the specifics of a deal in place needed to be done. “This is an opportunity to have a green recovery that lays the foundations of growth for the next two to three decades.”
Gordon Brown yesterday promised that a commitment to tackle the environment will be one of the five tests of the communique due to be released following the summit on Thursday, adding “there were long hours of hard negotiations ahead”.
“I haven’t heard anything that suggests the green recovery and climate change are a major part of the [G20] agenda. It would be a missed opportunity while they’re talking about the economy not to talk about how to transform it to low carbon.” Professor Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser for DEFRA
The draft G20 communique leaked at the weekend makes only the smallest reference to climate change, and appears to be vague on the subject of how green the $2trillion (£1.4trillion) stimulus package agreed by world leaders should be.
From The Guardian
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Twitter: @GlobalPatriot
The green recovery approach is, without question, the best way for the planet to stimulate economic growth while altering the path of carbon emissions toward a sustainable future. The next two years will be the critical window of opportunity – if we don’t act now and create a change in consciousness it will be much more difficult at any point in the future.