Green Solutions to the Global Slowdown

There is an excellent article in The Guardian today that considers the possible ‘green’ economic policies that may pull the global economy out of recession. There are some excellent evaluative points contained in the piece for students sitting the OCR 2888 European paper this summer.

Britain has only committed £1.5bn to sustainability as part of its reflationary package, less than a third of France, a sixth of Germany and 100 times less than China.

What more could G20 ministers do now to rebuild the global economy in a more sustainable way?

1. UN should set up a renewable energy agency. This agency would promote sustainable schemes. Alongside this there needs to be a UN climate change commissioner who would encourage governments to present a coherent green message across all aspects of policy. A network of low-carbon innovation centres across key developing countries should be funded by G8 members, which could develop local and small scale field trials on biomass and other sustainable energy projects.

2. Major banks that have benefited from public money should be steered in a new direction. These businesses need to abandon their sole focus on short term profit maximization in favor of a longer term non-profit performance view.

3. More public money given to research and development of new energy sources and directed in large-scale renewable projects. Alongside changes to the energy network a drive to electrify the transport network should also occur.

4. Financial incentives should be given to households to improve energy efficiency in their properties. For example incentives to lag the loft, install draught proof windows.

5. Carbon taxes should be used to restructure the EU’s emissions trading scheme and ensure a higher and more stable price for carbon. The scheme needs a system of carbon tax floors and ceilings to make it function more effectively.