Investment-oriented climate policy: An opportunity for Europe

GCF Report

This study shows that an investment-oriented climate policy based on credible climate goals can overcome the increasingly threatening stagnation of the European economy. Since other strategies to tackle the crisis are noticeably losing their plausibility, a constructive debate on this issue is urgently needed.

The simulations show that an investment-oriented climate policy may lead to an increase of growth and employment, even with a 50% reduction of annual GHG emissions by 2030 in Europe (compared to 1990). Putting a stronger emphasis on investment can be beneficial in economic as well as environmental terms. Incentives to mobilize investment should target private capital (on the supply side) and pay special attention to Central and Eastern European countries, characterized by high energy intensity and low income per capita.

In the European Union, a stronger integration of the economic governance framework including the “Investment Plan for Europe” and the 2030 climate and energy framework should be an important first step. Since current investment initiatives are not sufficient for a transformation in terms of scale and scope, a clear commitment to an investment-oriented climate policy is required. Working towards this goal with stakeholders such as policy makers, industrial companies and financial institutions will play a key role.

The report can be downloaded here > Investment-oriented climate policy: An opportunity for Europe

 

Commissioned by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation,
Building and Nuclear Safety