The Stimulus Passes and COVID-19 Lessons for Climate Change

Hot Topic: Relief. After days of debate and delays, the CARES Act is expected to be signed into law today. The $2 trillion stimulus package is designed to bring relief to American workers, small businesses, state and local governments, hospitals and key industries in the wake of COVID-19.

The stimulus will impact the trajectory of major industries for the foreseeable future, and while it provides a much-needed shot in the arm to the American economy, it is something of a mixed bag on the sustainability front. It provides $58 billion in grants, loans and loan guarantees to the major airlines with no requirement for future emissions reductions, for example, and it fails to extend tax breaks to help renewable energy industries. At the same time, it omits the $3 billion Trump sought fill the U.S. oil stockpile, a ‘draw’ that has earned the deal a pass from major green groups.

As Christiana Figueres noted this week, the coronavirus fight offers a number of lessons that extend to efforts to combat climate change. Prevention of disease is much less costly and painful than dealing with the aftermath. Global challenges know no national borders, and overcoming them requires the cooperation of everyone. Governments can take decisive action—and we can change our behavior quickly—when it’s absolutely necessary.

—Matt & Traci, GMMB