After our launch in April 2020, Climate SOS has published today a statement that reflects on the Covid-19 crisis and how it demands an urgent shift of fossil fuel subsidies to the zero-carbon economy.
The statement recognises that “Covid-19 has changed the world irrevocably and is challenging humanity on many levels”. It has been written in the context of the health, climate, ecological, social and economic crises that humanity now faces and the world’s nascent policy discussions on Covid-19 recovery and stimulus packages.
The statement continues:
“One of Covid-19’s greatest challenges to us all is that it has brought us abruptly to a fork in the road in the climate emergency: we have to decide now whether the trillions that will be spent on stimulus packages to help the global economy to recover from its current trauma should be invested in fossil fuels or the zero-carbon economy.
It’s not enough to insist that the Covid-19 health and economic crisis cannot be solved by propping up fossil fuel companies with yet more taxpayers’ money, although that, of course, is true. Covid-19 requires us to commit more whole-heartedly than ever to our zero-carbon future. Among many other actions, that involves governments across the world, including the UK, now planning to urgently phase out already existing fossil fuel subsidies (and subsidies for industrial-scale bioenergy) and transfer this finance to subsidies for the zero-carbon economy.”
Our statement today offers eight short referenced commentaries to support a just climate-resilient recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.
Published cartoons reflecting on these issues:
Climate SOS: Shift Our Subsidies 