Climate change mitigation became an economic positive
Illustration: Baptiste Virot for Bloomberg Green
Climate change mitigation became an economic positive
The Covid-climate parallels write themselves. Among the most significant: stopping Covid-19 is by far the best economic stimulus. The same goes for climate change. Environmentalists and some climate economists have long argued that addressing climate change is a win-win: a win for the climate, and for the economy. This fall, the IMF joined the fray. The reasoning: decarbonizing the economy is a major undertaking, requiring large investments in clean, efficient technologies. Climate success, in short, looks like more economic activity, not less. None of that means the transition will be costless. Far from it. Much like ridding the world of Covid-19 might hurt some companies, from Amazon to Zoom, so will cutting carbon to zero—and then some. Enabling a “just transition” is key, a term that has entered the vocabulary of staid economic institutions like the IMF and is front and center in president-elect Joe Biden’s climate-economic planning. —Gernot Wagner, Risky Climate columnist
Read More:
The IMF Has a Blueprint for Helping the Climate Without Hurting Economic Growth, Bloomberg Green
Finding the Right Policy Mix to Safeguard our Climate, IMFBlog
Read the full article at Bloomberg Green.