A Global Green Recovery, the G20 and International STI Cooperation in Clean Energy

This paper makes the case that a new policy strategy to enhance a global green recovery is needed urgently. The new strategy requires two essential elements. First, G20 economies should follow the lead of South Korea and China and turn their green stimulus investments into a serious long-term commitment, and to support these investments, they should adopt environmental pricing policies and instigate pricing and regulatory reforms to reduce carbon dependency. Second, the G20 also needs to target and coordinate assistance to developing economies in science, technology and innovation (STI) for clean energy. Such assistance is essential to help developing economies to overcome the skills, technological and capital gap that they face in clean energy technologies over the long term. Reform of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is also necessary to establish a long-term global price signal for carbon, and to increase the coverage of developing economies, the sectors and technologies and the overall financing of clean energy projects. Formulating such a policy strategy should appeal to both the Asian-Pacific and Western economies comprising the G20, and by working together to formulate such a strategy, the G20 could lead the way toward a new era of global economic management and STI cooperation in clean energy.