Apr 27, 2020 - Economy

Experts say EU's coronavirus recovery should include green energy investments

Ben Geman

Illustration of someone plugging smoke stacks with coronavirus. — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

European Union advisers are recommending that economic recovery measures for the coronavirus pandemic be in line with climate policy with low-carbon investments, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: It's the latest wrinkle in growing calls to orient huge financial recovery packages in Europe and elsewhere toward low-carbon industries.

On Friday, the International Energy Agency and Denmark hosted a virtual meeting on the topic that included officials from European nations, India, Canada, Indonesia and elsewhere.
And this week, an annual meeting of environment ministers from over 30 countries, called the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, will focus on "how to organise a 'green' economic recovery after the acute phase of the pandemic is over," the BBC reports.

But, but, but: In the U.S., GOP lawmakers and President Trump have pushed back against some Democrats' efforts to include provisions in the coronavirus response packages that would help shore up jeopardized renewables projects.

However, if brewing administration plans to aid distressed oil companies contain provisions that require congressional approval, there could be openings for a compromise on the topics.

Go deeper: Coronavirus could spark 500K green energy job losses

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Experts say EU's coronavirus recovery should include green energy investments

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