The coronavirus crisis is a window of opportunity to transform the economy and especially, to make it “green.” Previous economic crises such as the financial crisis in 2008/09 and the oil crises of the 1970s have triggered significant reductions in emissions in their immediate aftermath. But unfortunately, these lower emission levels did not last. In the ensuing recovery phase, emissions accelerated and outweighed earlier emissions reductions.But this time around with COVID-19, global emissions have been reduced by about 17% (compared with last year’s Spring months). For countries not to miss the opportunity to keep emissions levels down for the future, it is critical to make their economic recovery green and use the momentum to get to a zero-carbon future. A green growth path out of the crisis is especially important for MENA, as it will be the region hardest hit by extremely hot temperatures, which will push the limits of human adaptability.
To read the full blog post, refer to World Bank Blogs.
