- Any meaningful environmental impact risks being diluted if European countries are the only ones embracing the idea of a green recovery. The EU and the U.K. account for about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change, like the coronavirus, does not care about national borders.
This article is part of the daily Karma newsletter. To get the whole newsletter delivered to your email free every morning, subscribe here.
What happens when some countries embrace a green recovery while others don’t? The bulk of the $538 billion committed globally to a green recovery has come from the EU, where member countries like Denmark are doubling down on regulatory responses to climate change. In France and Germany, funds for auto manufacturers and other high-emission industries are being conditioned on an accelerated transition to clean energy; coal-dependent countries like Poland and Bulgaria are being enticed with economic incentives to transition to renewable energy.
Economic impact aside, any meaningful environmental impact risks being diluted if European countries are the only ones making these moves; the EU and the U.K. account for about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. What about the countries outputting the other 90%? Much like the coronavirus, climate change unfortunately does not care about national borders.
In Other News: ‘Pandemic bonds,’ Solar Power Merger
The World Bank is discontinuing “pandemic bonds” after the bonds were criticized as convoluted. The merger between two solar power companies is valued at $3.2 billion. India is banning TikTok and other apps made in China amid escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries. COVID-19 is forcing impact investors to reckon with deep-seated inequality. Vermont is the latest place to mandate composting. Why is Tesla’s stock so impressively resilient?
Levity Break
If you also read The Babysitters Club as a tween in the 1980s/1990s, immediately watch the delightful Netflix reboot (though be prepared to feel old).
