Friday, June 27, 2014

World Bank: Climate policies could lift global GDP by trillions every year

EurActiv: Global economic output could rise by as much as an additional $2.6 trillion (€1.9tn) a year, or 2.2%, by 2030 if government policies improve energy efficiency, waste management and public transport, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday (24 June).

The report, produced with philanthropic group ClimateWorks Foundation, analysed the benefits of ambitious policies to cut emissions from transport, industrial and building sectors as well as from waste and cooking fuels in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the United States and the European Union.

It found a shift to low-carbon transport and improved energy efficiency in factories, buildings and appliances could increase global growth in gross domestic product (GDP) by an extra $1.8 trillion (€1.3tn), or 1.5%, a year by 2030.

If financing and technology investment increased, global GDP could grow by an additional $2.6 trillion (€1.9tn), or 2.2%, a year by 2030, the World Bank said.

Climate policies could also avert at least 94,000 premature deaths a year from pollution-related diseases by 2030, improve crop productivity and prevent around 8.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases being emitted - the same as taking around 2 billion cars off the road....

Grant Wood's 1931 painting, "The Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, West Branch, Iowa"

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