Many countries globally have been launching emergency response and economic stabilization programmes as a response to the corona crisis. From a climate and resilience perspective it is key that those recovery packages, investments and subsidies are in line with long-term climate and sustainability targets. Thus, recovery packages should not only boost the economy in the short-term, but strike the path to a just transition towards climate neutrality. Though the EU has already announced that the economic recovery should be aligned with the EU's climate targets and the Green Deal agenda, there is no consensus or established metric of what an effective and green recovery looks like. Consequently, there is a high risk of green window dressing of conventional economic stimulus programmes and a lack of understanding how recovery efforts contribute to the EU climate targets and global climate agenda.
Against this background, Wuppertal Institute and E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism) have launched the Green Recovery Tracker project to shed light on the following questions: What can be considered an effective green recovery? What are good examples, which can be used as an inspiration for recovery programmes aiming to support sustainable development? Where do the individual Member States stand with respect to aligning their recovery activities with the climate policy agenda?
The project will build on and expand the work of existing initiatives that are tracking recovery packages. Moreover, the researchers will provide a systematic assessment of strengths and weaknesses of individual recovery programmes with a European focus and the possibility to compare different national initiatives. On a project-website, there will be created a knowledge base explicitly aimed at supporting civil society and other progressive organizations in their work on greening recovery efforts, a platform to feature relevant work and seek strategic partnerships. The focus of the Tracker within this project will be specifically on the EU and its Member States.
The project is funded by the European Climate Foundation.