Clean Energy Post COVID-19

Context: Renewable energy presents opportunities for an inclusive recovery after the pandemic

Progress in energy systems: in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) - 

• Reductions in energy demand: energy demand reductions in fossil fuels have led to depressed oil and gas prices.
• Progress in Renewable energy development: In countries like India and China.

Green recovery for ensuring resilience: to future crises such as COVID-19

• Emphasize on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
  • Will help in addressing systemic issues: like health, working conditions, poverty etc.
  • Diverting funding to investments that support the achievement of SDGs rather than to industries of the past like fossil fuels.
• Invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects: Apart from positive implications on the environment, it also creates more jobs for the same investment in fossil fuel projects. 
  • E.g. increasing expenditure on clean cooking and electricity access will enhance economic activity in rural areas and support modern infrastructure making communities more resilient and inclusive.
• Invest in low-carbon infrastructure and technologies: To help to reach the Paris Agreement target of a 2-degree global warming limit.
  • Replace coal with renewables: by ending fossil fuel subsidies and implementing carbon pricing.