Commentary: Green Growth Is Essential To Any Stimulus.

Global News - A commentary published in The Financial Times by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former US Vice President Al Gore writes: "Economic stimulus is the order of the day.... But even as leaders address the immediate need to stimulate the economy, so too must they act jointly to ensure that the new de facto economic model being developed is sustainable for the planet and our future on it.

What we need is both stimulus and long-term investments that accomplish two objectives simultaneously with one global economic policy response - a policy that addresses our urgent and immediate economic and social needs and that launches a new green global economy. In short, we need to make 'growing green' our mantra....

We must not let the urgent undermine the essential. Investing in the green economy is not an optional expense. It is a smart investment for a more equitable, prosperous future...." [The Financial Times (UK)/Factiva]

In a related article, Xinhua writes that "...a newly published report published by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) underscores how environmental investments can get the global and national economies back to sustainable work. The report launched in Nairobi on Monday says one third of the around $2.5 trillion of planned stimulus packages should be invested on 'greening' the world economy. This would assist in powering the global economy out of recession and onto a Green, 21st century path...." [Xinhua/Factiva]

Meanwhile, the IHT reports that "...for the young and growing renewable energy industry, the timing of the global downturn could not be worse. Bank credit and investors' cash have dried up just as the sector is most in need of money to build expensive wind farms and solar arrays to meet governments' clean power goals....

The long-term outlook for renewable energies remains strong, buoyed by fears of climate change and anxiety among Western nations about the security of their energy supplies, analysts say. But they warn that the sector is probably in for a rough ride in the coming months, and perhaps years, as the pinch of the global economic downturn intensifies...." [The International Herald Tribune/Factiva]