The Economist A unique chance to steer the economy away from carbon

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From: The Economist this week - Thursday May 21, 2020 05:58 pm
   
May 21st 2020 Read in browser
   
  The Economist this week  
 
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  Our cover this week calls for a global effort to tackle climate change. Covid-19 creates a unique chance to steer the economy away from carbon at a much lower financial, social and political cost than before. Rock-bottom energy prices make it easier to cut subsidies for fossil fuels and to introduce a tax on carbon. The revenues from that tax can help repair battered government finances. The businesses at the heart of the fossil-fuel economy—oil and gas firms, steel producers, carmakers—are already going through the agony of shrinking their long-term capacity and employment. Getting economies back on their feet calls for investment in climate-friendly infrastructure that boosts growth and creates new jobs. Low interest rates make the bill smaller than ever. The world should seize the moment.  
 
  Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-In-Chief  
     
 
  Editor’s picks  
 
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  The world this week
  
     
  At the World Health Organisation’s annual summit (held remotely), China accepted an Australian-led motion calling for an inquiry into the origins of covid-19. This marked a climbdown by the Chinese government in the face of widespread demands for such a probe. Earlier, Donald Trump once again threatened to pull America out of the WHO unless it took unspecified steps to show “independence from China”. Despite its success in tackling the coronavirus, Taiwan was not invited to this year’s meeting.
  
     
  More from politics this week  
     
  SoftBank reported an annual net loss of ¥962bn ($8.8bn), mostly because of bad investments its Vision Fund made in WeWork, Uber, Didi and other tech firms. The Japanese conglomerate might not pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time since becoming a public company in 1994. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, a Chinese internet giant, is to step down from SoftBank’s board as a director, an unexpected departure from a position he held for 13 years. SoftBank was an early investor in Alibaba and may use its stake in the company to fund a share buy-back programme.
  
     
  More from business this week  
     
See full edition
 
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Our weekly podcast on the science and technology making the news. Also this week: America’s latest offensive against Huawei, and could covid-19 bring about “peak fossil fuels”?
 
 
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