In The Name Of "Austerity", Government Climate Spending Forecast To Plunge $22-$45 Billion - FT

[hatrack]

Spending to tackle climate change is likely to plunge by at least $22bn in the next few years as government austerity cuts bite, a financial study has forecast, and by as much as $45bn if the eurozone crisis escalates.

Meanwhile, an “ever-widening chasm” is growing between what poorer countries need to adapt to climate change and the amount of money wealthy countries are delivering.

EDIT

In one of the first attempts to put a figure on how much austerity measures are likely to affect climate policies, consultants at Ernst & Young predict that European countries will suffer the brunt of spending reductions, but that large cuts could also be made in the US and Japan.

Among the 10 economies studied – chosen for ease of comparability – the worst-hit in the short term is forecast to be Spain, where tough austerity measures suggest the government will spend $5bn less between 2011 and 2015 on climate-change prevention than it would under “business as usual” conditions.

EDIT

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c477674a-107e-11e1-8010-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1dul2mSEL

[kristopher]

1. Govt spending *may* decline, but, private investment in clean energy is soaring...