According to the latest report of the Green Stimulus Index, during the Covid epidemic and after Biden became president in the US, it is now believed that the start of green recovery around the world could be led by the US.
More than leadership, America’s role is going to be catalyst or catalyst. This is because where Donald Trump brought America out of the Paris settlement in a jolt, Joe Biden won his entire election in the name of war against climate change and brought America back to this climate treaty as soon as he took office. .
The salient features of this report are as follows:
• 17 countries improved their Green Stimulus Index score, including the United States, which showed the largest increase by a jump of 36 points. The new Biden administration has already signaled a major shift in the geopolitics of climate change by re-entering the Paris Agreement, and the administration’s change in areas such as the United States’ clean tech, and other future industries that employ in the country Is also able to support and competitively position.
The country’s GSI (GSI) score was partially strengthened after a US $ 900 million bipartisan stimulus bill signed by former President Trump in December 2020, which included public transit and investment in clean energy, but Most of this spending was still devoted to the general economy. Following Biden’s executive order to deal with the climate crisis at home and abroad (Executive Order for Tackling the Climate Crisis) in January 2021, there was a huge improvement in its score which led to inter-governmental coordination and a new climate task force and messenger Indicated strong action in almost all environmentally relevant sectors supported, such as agriculture, fisheries, afforestation, efficiency, transport and energy decarbonization.
Currently, a US $ 1.9 trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’ is advancing through Congress, which if signed into law by 8 February 2021 will become law if the United States GSI ( GSI) will slightly improve the score by one or two points as the package is aimed more towards general economic recovery than climate change and biodiversity. However, if the $ 1.7 trillion Climate Plan for Clean Energy and Environmental Justice proposed by Biden is implemented, its score will increase substantially and surpass that of every other major economy on the index. But the US score remains negative in this version of GSI (GSI), indicating that at present, the US Stimulus is doing more harm than good.
The scale of the country’s potential green recovery may be threatened by the Federal Reserve’s Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), demonstrating the importance of policy alignment in all sectors. GSI identified that approximately US $ 555 million in corporate bonds (10% of all transactions) were purchased from companies identified as large emitters, which contribute to tropical deforestation or to large plastic pollutants Are included. This analysis is the first step towards exploring the role of central banks in the COVID-19 recovery, and how their operations can impact green-ness (greening) of renewal efforts.
• One of the largest climbers in this version of the GSI was Canada, building on its major reforms in December GSI. Its Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy Plan, announced in December 2020, includes a vast array of nature-friendly initiatives, including infrastructure investment in energy and transportation, and the country moved from a negative GSI score in October 2020 to third in today’s report Has arrived
• The United Kingdom’s recent withdrawal of financial support for foreign fossil fuel sectors, and commitments by 38 local authorities to reach net-zero emissions five years earlier than the national government (by 2045), also made it overall. Helped push it to fifth place.
• Japan’s $ 600 billion Stimulus amount is responsible for more than a third of the total growth in this edition, moving the country to the top of the rankings in Asia, surpassing South Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore. While it improved its score due to actions taken to restore nature and mitigate climate change, it remained in negative territory overall.
• Emerging economies are often the most dependent on environment-intensive sectors, and struggle to green their stimulus. China saw an improvement in its score as a result of its new ambition to reduce emissions intensity by 65% above 2005 levels by 2030 and a drastic planned increase in solar and wind capacity, but to some extent in its large and polluting industrial It remained in overall negative territory due to its Stimulus package support for the region. India’s recent Stimulus Declaration (two-thirds of which was green) included incentives for battery production and solar, as well as renewable energy schemes. Both China and India have improved their GSI scores, but they remain negative. Their poor underlying environmental performance and ongoing support for coal mean that their stimulus damages climate and nature.
• Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway were added to this version of the GSI, which have notably different fates. Denmark is at number one in the global league table as a result of a significant proportion of pandemic spending devoted to green measures, and countering the positive effects from its previously announced green transition plan due to its economic stimulus supporting airlines and the fossil fuel industry Norway is ranked 25th with a score of -67.
Jeffrey Bayer, economist, Vivid Economics, and co-author of the report, says, “Much more action is needed before we can actually see a green post-Covid recovery, but we can see a leap in progress in some countries. Encouraged, particularly in the US and Canada. The new US administration has signaled a dramatic shift from which climate and nature can be embedded in economic reform programs. US executive orders are a model for how regulatory changes Can generate employment, reduce emissions and protect nature. But, as GSI suggests, just good policy is not enough – it is key to catalyzing job-rich, green recovery Should be accompanied by public investment.
“We believe that the events of the last few weeks are a turning point in the US leadership in action on climate change and biodiversity. The administration must now hold it accountable, and integrate it into forums such as the G7 and G20 We must fulfill our pledge, and play the role of the geopolitical agent we need to step up global action on climate and nature. “