The Second CEPR/EAERE Webinar on Climate Policy: Pandemic stimulus spending and the fight against climate change took place on June 10, 2021 from 5.00 to 6.30 pm CEST.
Climate change is a long term threat to human societies with expected huge impacts on health, economies and welfare. Somehow similar to a pandemic, but with more persistent and irreversible consequences. Even more than the fight against Covid-19, climate change control is a difficult and complex task, which requires well-designed policies and important financial resources. The post-pandemic recovery is an important opportunity, if policies to address the current pandemic are and will be designed to achieve stronger, sustainable, and low carbon economic growth. The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed triggered the deepest global economic contraction since World War II. While most economies are expected to rebound in 2021-2022, the impact of the pandemic on many aspects of economy and emission drivers may last far longer. Therefore, a strong alignment of Covid-19 recovery packages with climate targets has the potential to address two important objectives: economic recovery and decarbonisation. This webinar will analyse these issues starting from lessons from past pandemics and then focusing on the implications of recovery plans for the fight against climate change.
Two presentations of 25 minutes each took place, respectively by Massimo Tavoni (European Institute on Economics and the Environment) and Ioana Petrescu (Harvard Kennedy School)
These presentations were followed by a 20-minute discussion moderated by Andrea Tilche (NTNU, Trondheim) and Danielle Arostegui (Environmental Defense Fund) as well as a 15-minute Q&A session.
Organisers:
Carlo Carraro (Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia and CEPR)
Ottmar Edenhofer (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)
Christian Gollier (Toulouse School of Economics and CEPR)
