Reset your economy: building a green stimulus package
The pandemic has inflicted huge economic damage around the world: over six months, according to the International Labour Organization, we’ve seen a fall in global working hours equivalent to 400 million full-time jobs. But with crisis comes opportunity – and as governments attempt to revive their stalled economies with stimulus packages worth US$10 trillion in the first couple of months alone, some are taking the opportunity to undertake a more thorough overhaul.
Ploughing investments into public transport, renewable power generation, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, some nations are pursuing ‘green recoveries’ – hoping to restore growth and create new jobs, while hitting carbon emissions targets and retooling their economies around the growth industries of tomorrow. With legacy industries dependent on taxpayers’ support and many green technologies reaching maturity, there has never been a better opportunity to shift decisively into a post-carbon world.
But this approach throws up big questions. Might green recoveries get off the ground more slowly? What mechanisms and strategies would best stimulate sustainable growth? And how can nations reshape their economies without abandoning the communities dependent on carbon-intensive industries? Bringing together senior civil servants, technical professionals and policy specialists from around the world, this Global Government Forum webinar explored the decisions facing governments as they considered whether to jump-start their stalled economies – or to change the engine of growth.
Panel
- Laura Altinger, Regional Team Lead for Nature, Climate and Energy, United Nations Development Programme
- Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Former Président of EBRD and Incoming Chair of ODI
- George Dibb, Head of Industrial Strategy & Policy Engagement, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Steffen Jenner, Policy Advisor Energy and Climate Policy Unit, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany
- Dan Markham, National Leader, Asset and Economic Advisory, Deloitte
