The world is blowing its chance to “build back better” from Covid-19

Global economic crises have historically presented a critical opening for government investment in the climate. In 2009, for example, the Obama administration set the stage for today’s booming clean energy market by pumping $90 billion in recovery funds into the sector.

So when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many economists called on world leaders to “build back better” by prioritizing green initiatives in their stimulus spending, which has amounted to at least $10 trillion globally. The hope was to lock in some of the deep carbon emission reductions brought on by the global slowdown-with the added benefit that green government spending can get more bang for the buck than traditional stimulus measures.

So far, it looks like some of the world’s biggest polluters are missing the opportunity.

Originally published at https://qz.com.