![]() In addition to reducing emissions, making infrastructure more resilient avoids costly repairs and minimizes the wide-ranging consequences of natural disasters on the livelihoods and well-being of people, particularly the most vulnerable, as well as on businesses and economies. Paris Agreement aims to mobilize finance for climateĬountries recognized the need for specific climate financing in the Paris Agreement which calls for “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. Replacing the costliest 500 gigawatts of coal capacity with solar and wind would cut annual costs by up to US$23 billion per year and yield a stimulus worth US$940 billion, or around 1 per cent of global gross domestic product. Already, coal mines are being closed as the price of coal becomes increasingly more expensive compared with renewable energy sources. This raises the question of assets that will be abandoned well before their intended date of retirement and will not produce the expected returns. That is why UN Secretary-General António Guterres has set six priority areas for climate action during the COVID-19 recovery phase including: investing in decent jobs no bail-outs for polluting companies abandoning fossil fuel subsidies ending investment in and construction of coal-fired power plants taking climate risks and opportunities into account in all financial and policy decisions increasing international cooperation and ensuring a just transition that leaves nobody behind. This transition will require policies that steer nations towards carbon neutrality well before 2050. The long-term economic reality is that only a fraction of proven fossil fuel reserves can be burned if we are to keep temperature rise to 1.5☌. It is increasingly clear that the world cannot afford to burn all of its fossil fuel reserves if we are to succeed in limiting climate change to sustainable, livable, levels. Investment decisions now will determine whether we create or destroy wealth and potential paths to prosperity. ![]() An investment of US$1, on average, yields US$4 in benefits.Īnd the New Climate Economy Report, issued in 2018, found that bold climate action could yield a direct economic gain of US$26 trillion through to 2030 compared with business-as-usual-a conservative estimate, it said.ĬOVID-19 has not stopped climate change, and although the pandemic did produce a drop in emissions, the drop was temporary and emissions have climbed back to about where they were before the pandemic-back a path that would lead to global temperature increases far in excess of the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5☌, and which would cause far great devastating impacts. Transitioning to a green economy, it found, can unlock new economic opportunities and jobs. According to October 2019 data from the World Bank, the world will need to make significant investment in infrastructure over the next 15 years –around US$90 trillion by 2030. Studies and reports conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic showed that investments in climate action would go far to build a sustainable economy. The benefits that flow from these investments, however, dramatically outweigh any upfront costs. ![]() ![]() Financial resources and sound investments are needed to address climate change, to both reduce emissions, promote adaptation to the impacts that are already occurring, and to build resilience.
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