Global carbon emissions are expected to rise as only 2 per cent of Covid-19 stimulus measures are set to power energy transition, the International Energy Agency has said.
Governments across the world have committed to spend only $380 billion on clean energy development under stimulus packages to ease the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
“Since the Covid-19 crisis erupted, many governments may have talked about the importance of building back better for a cleaner future, but many of them are yet to put their money where their mouth is," Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director, said.
"Despite increased climate ambitions, the amount of economic recovery funds being spent on clean energy is just a small sliver of the total.”
The Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains and caused the world economy to contract 3.5 per cent in 2020 according to the International Monetary Fund, also heightened awareness about emissions.
Globally around $16 trillion was committed in fiscal support to help stimulate growth, over the course of 2020. However, only 2 per cent of the commitments were towards energy transition.
Under governments’ current recovery spending plans, global carbon dioxide emissions are set to climb to record levels in 2023 and continue rising in the following years, according to the IEA.
Lack of funding towards clean energy development would derail efforts to reach net carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, the agency added.
The IEA's Sustainable Recovery Tracker, which monitors governments’ fiscal responses to the Covid-19 crisis and estimates their impact on clean energy investments and global CO2 emissions, said new spending commitments made in 2020 would add an extra $350bn annually to clean energy and electricity systems between 2021 and 2023. The additional spending marks an increase of 30 per cent over the levels seen in recent years.
However, the funding is still only 35 per cent of the requirement the Paris-based agency recommended through its sustainable recovery plan.
Most of the commitments towards clean energy investments come from G20 economies. In advanced economies, the stimulus packages are likely to meet 60 per cent of sustainable energy investment needs.
However, in emerging and developing economies, the share declines to 20 per cent as the countries remain focused on emergency health provisions.
“Governments need to increase spending and policy action rapidly to meet the commitments they made in Paris in 2015 – including the vital provision of financing by advanced economies to the developed world,” Mr Birol said.
"They must then go even further by leading clean energy investment and deployment to much greater heights beyond the recovery period in order to shift the world onto a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050, which is narrow but still achievable – if we act now," he added.
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First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)
Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
