In today’s edition:
— United Nations makes case for economic growth from fossil fuel transition
— Far-right German party’s election victory shows energy prices still the No. 1 issue
— You think carbon is a problem? Wait til you hear about methane
— El Nino’s impact spreads from weather damage to humanitarian crises
— How Central Park helps NY keep its cool
As global leaders prepare to descend on New York City in two weeks for their annual summit at the United Nations amid war, soaring fuel costs and increased trade friction, the UN made its case for how dramatic action to fight global warming could lead to economic benefit rather than increased disaster costs.
The UN said in a widely circulated report that a series of initiatives around electric vehicles, limiting harmful methane releases at oil and gas plants, and the adaption of renewable energy would reduce pollution and provide up to 2.8% in economic growth to the world by 2035.
The growth would come largely from lower spending on healthcare and from increased labor production from a healthier workforce, the UN said. It added that implementation of the initiatives would cost about 0.7% of GDP. By contrast, every year of failure to implement would cost more than $1.5 trillion in pollution-related costs, as well as fossil fuel subsidies, or about 0.5% of GDP per year.
The UN is very much singing a solo tune here as the majority of governments have turned their backs on clean energy and zero emission strategies in the last few years as the wars in Ukraine and Iran have spiked fuel costs and caused a global energy crisis (see German vote below). But with New York Climate Week running concurrent with the global leaders meeting, it’s heartening to see the UN at least make its case.
We expect much of the global leaders meeting will focus on squabbling between President Donald Trump and other countries over issues such as Israel, global trade, and Ukraine. Reports like these tend to get noted and then pushed to the back of priority lists. But they serve as a reminder that the ability for governments to fight the onslaught of global warming exists. It’s just being ignored.
If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.
Tuesday’s subscriber insights
