Fossil-Free Recovery

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, governments around the world are injecting trillions of dollars of public money into their economies in an effort to counteract the socio-economic effects of the crisis. While spending has ballooned, government revenues have contracted due to reduced economic activity and tax cuts, resulting in previously unimaginable levels of debt and deficit. Governments now face the critical challenge of solving the most pressing health issue of our times, as they fight to keep their economies running and minimize the impact on people and business. This will necessitate raising and spending scarce public resources more carefully than ever. 

Despite the many challenges, however, it is possible to address critical health and economic priorities in a way that allows us to “build back better.” As hundreds of billions of public dollars flow into the energy sector, governments have a particular opportunity to support the clean energy transition. In order to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, governments must ensure that recovery funds support this necessary paradigm shift. This includes increasing support for renewable energy and energy access in ways that create new jobs and leave no one behind. However, so far, of quantified funds committed to energy-intensive sectors, G20 governments have allocated more than half to fossil fuels while pledging just over one third to renewables.

The Fossil-Free Recovery project looks at:

• How governments can raise money from fossil fuel subsidy reform and taxation 
• Practical solutions to spend it efficiently to create a more resilient and sustainable society.