IMF chief: $1 trillion post-coronavirus stimulus must tackle climate crisis

(Climate Change News, 29 Apr 2020) As it gears up to lend $1 trillion to governments hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is giving guidance on using the cash to tackle climate change.

Economic activity has slumped worldwide amid travel restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19. More than 100 countries have applied to the IMF for emergency finance.

Money to rebuild after the public health crisis should be directed into green investments and not subsidise fossil fuels, according to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.

It would be a mistake to “pause” action on climate change while responding to coronavirus, she said. “We are about to deploy enormous, gigantic fiscal stimulus and we can do it in a way that we tackle both crises at the same time… If our world is to come out of this [coronavirus] crisis more resilient, we must do everything in our power to make it a green recovery.”

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Climate Change News, 29 Apr 2020: IMF chief: $1 trillion post-coronavirus stimulus must tackle climate crisis