- A mere 2 per cent of pandemic recovery spending is going towards clean energy measures.
- And energy-related carbon emissions were likely to climb to record levels in 2023 with “no clear peak in sight,” the International Energy Agency has said.
An FT news source says that carbon emissions headed for new record in 2023, says IEA.
Governments had allocated $380bn
Paltry pandemic recovery spending on clean-energy measures leaves net zero goals way out of reach, agency warns.
Governments had allocated $380bn out of a total of $16tn in pandemic support to clean energy, the IEA calculated in its latest report monitoring pandemic recovery plans worldwide.
Even if all these measures were implemented on time, it would be “still far from what’s needed to put the world on a path to reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century”, said Fatih Birol, IEA executive director.
“It’s not even enough to prevent global emissions from surging to a new record,” he concluded. Governments worldwide have made commitments to fostering “green” recoveries and using pandemic support measures to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.
But researchers have consistently found such spending to have fallen well short of what is needed to limit global warming beyond catastrophic levels.
Development charity Tearfund’s calculation
In June, development charity Tearfund calculated the G7 group of leading economies alone had allocated more than $189bn of pandemic recovery funds in support of fossil fuels, compared to $147bn to clean energy projects.
According to the IEA, which analysed more than 800 policy measures across more than 50 countries, most of the $16tn committed to date has been focused on emergency financial relief for households and businesses.
The $380bn of clean energy spending, combined with new policies, will increase total public and private spending on green fuels and electricity networks by $350bn a year between 2021 and 2023, the IEA’s report said.
But that is only a third of the $1tn the group and the IMF jointly said last year was needed to put the world on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Many governments are yet to put money
Although many governments had talked about building back better, “many of them are yet to put their money where their mouth is”, said Birol.
Governments in advanced economies have earmarked around $76bn a year on average from 2021 to 2023 for clean energy, while those in developing economies have pledged around $8bn.
A large chunk of the spending announced to date has been for energy-efficient buildings and industry, which has been allocated around $107bn annually in recovery money in the years to 2023.
France has settled on a tax break linked to energy-efficiency improvements on buildings in certain cities, for example.
Most of the spending related to sustainable energy announced so far was linked to existing programmes and areas that need “only modest incentives to trigger private sector participation”, according to the IEA’s analysis, such as energy-efficiency grants and support for electric transport.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: FT
