The UNEP-commissioned study also found that China spends more on environmental projects as a percentage of its economic stimulus package that other G-20 nations (34%), followed by Australia with 21%. France, Germany and the US finish off the top five, with each nation committing less than 20%.
UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said the figures, provided by HSBC Global Research, were "both cause for optimism and cause for concern". He noted that while "an estimated 15% of the estimated €2.1 trillion worth of global stimulus packages [is] green in nature", it is "in many cases well below the recommended 1% of global GDP which economists advise is the sum that can catalyse real and sustainable, worldwide change".
The UNEP-commissioned report recommends that a significant portion of all the economic stimulus packages around the world be invested in five critical areas: energy efficiency in old and new buildings; renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass technologies; sustainable transport technologies, such as hybrid vehicles, high speed rail and bus rapid transit systems; the planet's ecological infrastructure, including freshwaters, forests, soils and coral reefs; and sustainable agriculture, including organic production.
In addition, the report warns that overall investments in renewable energy remain inadequate to reduce carbon emissions in line with the targets scientists believe are necessary to limit average global temperature rises to two degrees – a goal set by G-8 nations in July. In order to achieve this target, global sustainable energy funding needs to more than double to around €350 billion annually, it says.
Finally, the report notes that there are €270 billion worth of fossil fuel subsidies across the G-20 that could be diverted help accelerate the transition to low-carbon technologies, and also recommends that governments phase out agriculture subsidies as another way to cut emissions.
The “Rethinking the Economic Recovery: A Global Green New Deal” report can be downloaded here:
