![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Statistics-Instagram.jpg\")
On an individual level, we understandably prioritize our own, and our family\u2019s, day-to-day health and financial wellbeing, more often than not, at the expense of all else.<\/p>\n
On a governmental level, meanwhile, all efforts inevitably swing to trying to control the pandemic and mitigate the devastating impact on the economy and society.<\/p>\n
In this new and unwelcome reality, climate change (despite its contributing role in the COVID-19<\/a> pandemic) can easily find itself pushed down the priority agenda \u2013 even as the \u2018opportunity window\u2019 to save the environment shrinks, ever smaller and shorter.<\/p>\n At time of writing, coronavirus has infected more than 73 million people and contributed to the deaths of more than 1.6 million[1]<\/a>. \u00a0The cost to the global economy is estimated at up to US$ 1 trillion[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 This sounds \u2013 and indeed is \u2013 shocking.\u00a0 But climate change has the power to do even greater<\/em> harm, displacing hundreds of millions of people worldwide, rendering large swathes of the globe uninhabitable, driving mass migration and even conflict, and costing multiple trillions of dollars to rectify.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Even as the pandemic unfolds around us, dire climate statistics continue to accumulate.<\/p>\n The highest temperature ever recorded on Earth, 54.4o<\/sup>C, was reached in Death Valley, California, in mid-August 2020[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, scientists warn us that Greenland ice sheets lost a record one million tons of ice per minute in 2019[5]<\/a>, contributing to a 28 trillion-ton ice deficit over the last 30 years[6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n How, then, do we keep attentions focused on the longer-term perils of climate change, and encourage governments to reboot their economies with environmentally friendly sustainable strategies?<\/p>\n Countries around the world are mulling enormous commercial stimulus packages to reignite economies brought to their knees by the impact of the pandemic \u2013 packages estimated to be worth as much as US$ 9 trillion[7]<\/a>.<\/p>\n The record-low interest rates have created an attractive financial basis for investing in green infrastructure. In the United States, President-elect Joe Biden has outlined plans for a US$ 2 trillion decarbonization plan for the country\u2019s gas-guzzling economy. The EU has earmarked 30% of its US$ 880 billion COVID-19 recovery plan for climate measures, and in her state-of-the-union address in September, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, confirmed the EU\u2019s aim to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 55% over 1990 levels in the next decade[8]<\/a>.<\/p>\n This once-in-a-lifetime scenario presents us with an unprecedented opportunity to change course.<\/p>\n An opportunity that will dictate the energy trajectory for the coming generation, with the power to either supercharge, or undermine, the fledgling clean energy transition.<\/p>\n Most people with an emotional interest in the planet\u2019s future would prefer the former, but several red flags already loom on the horizon.<\/p>\n While acknowledging that some of these issues are likely to be temporary, global consultancy Ernst & Young highlights several challenges coronavirus has triggered for the renewable energy market.<\/p>\n A report by the International Energy Agency<\/a> (IEA) recognizes the commercial cost of COVID-19\u2019s impact: a global economy set to contract by 6% this year, with some 300 million job losses in the second quarter, and energy investments plunging by as much as one-fifth[10]<\/a>.<\/p>\n None of these hurdles should divert us from the overwhelming urgency of tackling climate change \u2013 nor the unexpected opportunities presented by the reset button of the pandemic.<\/p>\n In such turbulent times, how do we prevent ourselves, as the former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,<\/a> Christiana Figueres, says, \u201cjumping out of the frying pan of the pandemic and into the fire of exacerbated climate change\u201d?<\/em>[11]<\/a><\/p>\n To win both government support and public opinion requires a delicate balancing act: awareness of the present coupled with respect for the future.<\/p>\n Put simply, what sort of steps can policymakers adopt that will bring both short and<\/em> long-term benefits to both the environment and the economy?<\/p>\n First \u2013 think jobs. \u00a0Government support for green power schemes such as solar and wind farms are tipped to trigger an avalanche of much-needed work opportunities.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n The International Renewable Energy Agency<\/a> (IRENA) argues that scaling-up worldwide investment in clean energy to US$ 2 trillion a year would add 1% to global GDP annually between now and 2023 and create almost 5.5 million new jobs; increasing that figure to US$ 4.5 trillion a year would see a cumulative GDP gain of US$ 16 trillion between now and 2030 and create more than 15 million new jobs.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n With a presence on five continents; and a track record of over fifty plants developed; a project portfolio of over 2.5 GW in emerging solar markets including Australia, the Middle East, India, Africa, USA and Latin America; and over US$ 3 billion in total financing managed with more than 20 leading banks, over more than a decade, FRV has established itself as a committed investor in our planet\u2019s sustainable future, and a provider of sold, long-term employment opportunities.<\/p>\n But what else?\u00a0 Well, with consumer spending low, governments could use trade-in scrappage schemes to motivate people to replace aged, emissions-heavy items such cars and washing machines with newer, cleaner models.<\/p>\n Why stop there?\u00a0 Prompted by the sharp rise in home schooling and remote working during the pandemic, governments could take the opportunity to refocus attentions on affordable, dependable electricity supplies.\u00a0 Spending now to strengthen power grids will prepare them for the technologies of the future, and for the integration of a greater share of wind and solar energy<\/a> in years to come.<\/p>\n And while we\u2019re thinking in cutting-edge terms, what better time to pave the way for battery, hydrogen cell and carbon capture technologies?\u00a0 Pumping timely funds into these fast-moving areas will make them much more cost-competitive, to say nothing of creating near-limitless job streams.<\/p>\n Battery technology<\/a> is already experiencing sharp cost declines, with car battery packs falling from US$ 1,100\/kWh in 2010 to US$ 160\/kWh in 2019,[14]<\/a> and can be the catalytic \u2018missing-link\u2019 to making wind and solar viable complete alternatives for fossil fuel generated power by offering 24\/7 clean solution.<\/p>\n The FRV\/Harmony Energy project<\/a> at Holes Bay, Dorset, in the UK is case in point. \u00a0The project uses six Tesla Megapack, lithium-ion batteries that enable utility-scale energy storage. \u00a0The Megapack batteries have a capacity of 15 MWh and are connected to the\u00a0local power\u00a0distribution network, providing the capability to store energy from renewable sources and afford peak-time flexibility to the UK National Grid as part of the UK\u2019s continuing shift away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n Few of these strategies will come without a price, however, so the final part of the puzzle will probably involve attracting more private investment, as at Holes Bay.<\/p>\n Policies supportive of green energy projects (loans, carbon pricing, public-private partnerships) will all give potential investors the confidence they need to take that next step and make environmentally friendly energy the cornerstone of our global coronavirus recovery.<\/p>\n One voice worth paying close attention to is St\u00e9phane Hallegate, World Bank<\/a> climate change economist.<\/p>\n Hallegate advocates seizing the moment to provide financial backing for other kinds of environmental investments.<\/p>\n Think preserving and restoring ecosystems prone to floods, drought and hurricanes.\u00a0 Think cleaning-up polluted lands.\u00a0 Think encouraging more sustainable transport infrastructure such as metro systems.<\/p>\n Hallegate is in little doubt:<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are strategic in how we design policy responses, we can achieve both short and long-term outcomes that benefit both national and global interests.\u201d<\/em>[15]<\/a><\/p>\n The IEA concurs with this blueprint, and in its 30-step Sustainable Recovery Plan<\/a> outlines several further strategies encompassing six key sectors: electricity, transport, industry, buildings, fuels and emerging low-carbon technologies.\u00a0 The outcomes are the sort that would appeal to any rational government \u2013 continued economic growth, future-proofed jobs and sustainable development.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n These additional IEA recommendations include:<\/p>\n The compensations are enticing. If adopted, the IEA\u2019s recommendations could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5 billion tons and air pollution by 5% between now and 2023 \u2013 all while creating or saving approximately 9 million jobs.[17]<\/a><\/p>\n IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol says governments have \u201ca once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reboot their economies and bring a wave of new employment opportunities while accelerating the shift to a more resilient and cleaner energy future\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n The opportunities are clear. \u00a0The dangers of burying our collective heads in the sand are even starker.<\/p>\n As the battle against the coronavirus crisis continues, we can already see a great divergence in government responses worldwide.<\/p>\n Despite glimmers of hope in some countries, other territories, intentionally or otherwise, are experiencing environmental setbacks during this crucial recovery phase.<\/p>\n China, for instance, in an effort to slash the cost of its renewable energy subsidy scheme, has surrendered its previous pole position on Ernst & Young\u2019s global Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index<\/a> (RECAI).[18]<\/a>\u00a0 The Chinese government has been lowering its subsidies for onshore wind and solar projects to offset the US$ 14 billion deficit of its Renewable Energy Development Fund.\u00a0 It has budgeted just US$ 700 million for new renewables in 2020.<\/p>\n Without extra support, it is feared that China\u2019s onshore power additions could grow by less than 0.5 GW per year for the remainder of the decade.[19]<\/a><\/p>\n Elsewhere, India\u2019s progress in renewables has slowed amid warnings it could miss its 175 GW target for 2022, a trend only likely to be exacerbated by COVID-19.\u00a0 As for Japan, it has weathered some disappointing solar auctions in 2020, with allocated capacity falling short of availability.\u00a0 Solar growth rates are expected to fall from 10% in 2019 to 5% for the remainder of the decade, while Egypt has been battling low industrial power price predictions, with its solar PV forecast reduced by 0.6 GW over the next five years.<\/p>\n Similarly, in South America, Chile is sounding a similarly downbeat note by postponing its planned 2020 electricity auction, citing falling GDP and a 6% drop in power demand.<\/p>\n And yet, before we despair too much, the outlook in other markets suggests coronavirus represents a blip rather than a terminal blow to the clean energy transition.<\/p>\n In a promising development, the United States has claimed top place on RECAI for the first time since 2016.\u00a0 This is credited to an extension of its Production Tax Credits (PTC) scheme.\u00a0 Long-term growth has been recorded in the USA\u2019s offshore wind market, and there are plans for US$ 57 billion investment to install a further 30 GW by the end of the decade.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n Signs are also hopeful in Europe.<\/p>\n In France, 1.4 GW of wind and solar energy has been awarded in its most recent tender, with plans for a further 28 GW of wind and solar projects over the next five years.\u00a0 Across the border in Italy, 500 MW of contracts have been allocated in its latest renewable auction, and plans are in the pipeline for six more rounds of auctions totaling 4.2 GW under CFDs (\u2018contracts for difference\u2019 \u2013 a mechanism for removing all exposure to market risk).\u00a0 In Greece, meanwhile, the government is phasing out the use of lignite coal, decommissioning some 4 GW of coal-fired capacity by 2023.[21]<\/a><\/p>\n Similarly, Spain\u2019s national energy and climate plan, submitted to the European Commission in April 2020, sets a target of a 23% cut in emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. \u00a0The plan anticipates an increase in wind power from 28GW in 2020, to 50 GW by 2030, and a growth in solar photovoltaics (PV), from 8.4 GW at the start of 2020, to 39 GW in 2030.<\/p>\n I\u2019m proud that FRV<\/a> is making its own contribution to achieving these objectives here, too. \u00a0In September 2020, FRV achieved financial close on the 138 MW San Serv\u00e1n photovoltaic plant in Extremadura, Spain, set to power some 105,000 Spanish homes.<\/p>\n The project is the first Climate Bond Certified<\/a> green transaction in Spain, with a \u20ac64 million \u2018green loan\u2019. \u00a0The project is not only significant as a step towards Spain decarbonizing its energy sector, it also demonstrates FRVs commitment to sustainable best practice in solar finances.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is reaffirming its focus on renewable energy with plans to generate 25 GW of green energy in the next five years, increasing to 60 GW over the coming decade.\u00a0 Two-thirds of this energy will be derived from solar power, exploiting the relentlessly hot and sunny climate of the Middle East.<\/p>\n As ever, the vision of a low-pollution energy future will live or die by economic realities.\u00a0 As forward-thinking nations begin to reap rewards from green-infused recovery strategies, there is every reason to believe that momentum will swing behind sustainable investments from the private sector, too.<\/p>\n It\u2019s pleasing to see that investors with an eye on ethics and changing public priorities are increasingly looking beyond black-and-white financials when deciding where to direct their assets. \u00a0The rise of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing demonstrates how investors are beginning to align their goals with issues such as climate change and social inequality.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s big business.<\/p>\n The Financial Times expects ESG funds to grow threefold by 2025, their share of the European fund sector soaring from 15% to 57%, with sustainable investment products across the continent tipped to hit \u20ac7.6tn over the next five years.[22]<\/a><\/p>\n These changing habits will have widespread reverberations.\u00a0 Not only will they organically redirect capital into sustainable activities (the technology sector is a magnet for ESG investment, industrials far less so) but it will also force businesses to be more transparent about their environmental impact.<\/p>\n ESG has so far shown immunity against even that most rapacious of villains \u2013 COVID-19.\u00a0 2020 has seen record levels of ESG investment worldwide despite market turmoil triggered by the pandemic.[23]<\/a>\u00a0 A coincidence?\u00a0 Hardly.<\/p>\n Goldman Sachs has noted that \u201cprior to this crisis there was a meaningful and increasing focus on ESG investing, and it is likely that this focus will only increase following coronavirus.\u201d<\/em> [24]<\/a><\/p>\n In a survey by KPMG, more than one-third of senior company executives admitted investor pressure was increasing their focus on ESG[25]<\/a>.\u00a0 A poll by Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, indicated 80% of asset owners are already incorporating ESG factors into their investment choices.[26]<\/a><\/p>\n Nor is it only about changing institutional investing patterns. Private businesses \u2013 like Abdul Latif Jameel \u2013 can help to catalyze both business and government investment into solutions to combat climate change and accelerate a green recovery. \u00a0Organizations like the Clean, Renewable and Environmental Opportunities Syndicate (CREO Syndicate<\/a>), are already helping to change attitudes and explore private investment opportunities across the global ESG marketplace.<\/p>\n As the CREO explains in a white paper, \u201cOverall interest in sustainable investing is growing as many institutional investors and wealth owners re-evaluate their exposure to fossil fuels and as political discourse on climate risks builds.\u00a0 Wealth owners are at the forefront of the trend, driven by a long-term time horizon that is a natural match to sustainable investments, personal values, and interests expressed by next-generation members.\u201d[27]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n I believe this powerful combination of factors can play a central role as we seek to be build a greener recovery.<\/p>\n The pandemic has undoubtedly brought us to a unique crossroads in time: a cultural and economic divergence which will dictate the kind of world in which we live for decades to come.\u00a0 It affords us the opportunity to address, at last, problems which had been gestating for a long time \u2013 problems which if ignored may eventually become too ingrained to solve.<\/p>\n It has been estimated that weather-related disasters cost the US economy US$ 309 billion in 2017 alone[28]<\/a> and that losses from climate disasters globally have hit US$ 3 trillion over the past decade.[29]<\/a><\/p>\n Former UN climate change head Christiana Figueres warns that if by 2030 we have not halved greenhouse gas emissions \u201cwe will not be able to avoid devastating tipping points that would shatter the global economy and pose existential human threats.\u00a0 The costs of inaction are staggering \u2014 US$ 600 trillion by the end of the century.\u201d<\/em>[30]<\/strong><\/sup><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n We should all heed those words \u2013 existential human threat.\u00a0 In such context it is easy to envisage nations which fail to act in the global interest becoming pariahs on the international scene.<\/p>\n It is the tendency of governments to react rather than plan, to think only of the next few years until voters return to the ballot boxes.\u00a0 Yet, with the solutions to our dual dilemmas (the post-pandemic economic recovery and the clean energy transition) so harmoniously intertwined, surely now is the time to adopt a truly different<\/em> mindset: long-term thinking for long-term rewards.<\/p>\n Post-pandemic economic stimulus and investment with environmental priorities are the only ways to guarantee we can pass on to future generations a world worth saving.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/span><\/a> https:\/\/coronavirus.jhu.edu\/map.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-covid-19-cost-economy-2020-un-trade-economics-pandemic\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2019-09-09\/the-massive-cost-of-not-adapting-to-climate-change<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> https:\/\/amp.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/aug\/19\/highest-recorded-temperature-ever-death-valley<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/aug\/20\/greenland-ice-sheet-lost-a-record-1m-tonnes-of-ice-per-minute-in-2019<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2020\/aug\/23\/earth-lost-28-trillion-tonnes-ice-30-years-global-warming?utm_term=f5e7d6a02f5e35528cad68d5646a9138&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/sustainable-recovery<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> The Economist<\/em>, September 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_gl\/power-utilities\/in-the-wake-of-a-human-crisis-do-climate-goals-take-a-back-seat<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [10]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/sustainable-recovery<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [11]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9e832c8a-8961-11ea-a109-483c62d17528<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [12]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/commentaries\/how-to-make-the-economic-recovery-from-coronavirus-an-environmentally-sustainable-one<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [13]<\/a> https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/adfd6e581840\/irena-outlines-agenda-for-sustainable-economic-recovery-332306?e=63a2dbe8b3<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/sustainable-recovery\/strategic-opportunities-in-technology-innovation#abstract<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [15]<\/a> https:\/\/www.preventionweb.net\/news\/view\/71103<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [16]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/sustainable-recovery<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [17]<\/a> https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/sustainable-recovery<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [18]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_us\/recai<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [19]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_gl\/power-utilities\/in-the-wake-of-a-human-crisis-do-climate-goals-take-a-back-seat<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [20]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_us\/recai<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [21]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_gl\/power-utilities\/in-the-wake-of-a-human-crisis-do-climate-goals-take-a-back-seat<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [22]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5cd6e923-81e0-4557-8cff-a02fb5e01d42<\/span><\/p>\n [23]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/06\/07\/sustainable-investing-is-set-to-surge-in-the-wake-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html<\/span><\/p>\n [24]<\/a> https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/06\/07\/sustainable-investing-is-set-to-surge-in-the-wake-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html<\/span><\/p>\n [25]<\/a> https:\/\/assets.kpmg\/content\/dam\/kpmg\/be\/pdf\/2018\/05\/esg-risk-and-return.pdf<\/span><\/p>\n [26]<\/a> https:\/\/www.morganstanley.com\/press-releases\/morgan-stanley-sustainable-signals–asset-owners-see-sustainabil<\/span><\/p>\n [27]<\/a> https:\/\/creosyndicate.org\/news-collection\/pathwaystoinvesting<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [28]<\/a> https:\/\/www.morganstanley.com\/im\/publication\/insights\/investment-insights\/ii_weatheringthestorm_us.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [29]<\/a> https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-climate-disaster-losses\/last-decade-most-expensive-for-natural-disasters-report-idUSKBN1ZL00H<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [30]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9e832c8a-8961-11ea-a109-483c62d17528<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":82769,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Highest-Temps-300x225.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Greenland-map-anomaly.png\")
Renewable energy weathers fallout from pandemic<\/h2>\n
![\"Ursula](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Ursula-von-der-Leyen-President-EU-Commission-300x169.jpg\")
\n
![\"Christiana](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Christiana-Figueres-UN-300x183.jpg\")
\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Simple solutions to sustainable recovery<\/h2>\n
![\"FRV\"](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/FRV-150x150.png\")
FRV<\/a>, a leading global developer of renewable utility-scale projects and part of Abdul Latif Jameel \u00a0Energy<\/a>, exemplifies the ambition, commitment and innovation that is necessary to truly achieve the potential of the global renewable energy sector.<\/p>\n![\"ALJ](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ALJ-Investment-In-Clean-Energy-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nParallel payoffs: environment and<\/em> economy<\/h2>\n
![\"Stephane](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Stephane-Hallegatte-World-Bank-300x169.jpg\")
\nLead Economist, Climate Change Group, World Bank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ALJ-Annual-Direct-CO2-Emissions-scaled-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nDanger of derailment?<\/h2>\n
Milestone projects offer cause for hope<\/h2>\n
Sustainable investment: a niche no more<\/h2>\n
Sustainable stimulus plans bring us back from the brink<\/h2>\n