New RMI Study Recommends Four Stimulus Principles to Build Back a Global Low-Carbon Economy

Latest RMI paper articulates four core principles of strategic stimulus and recovery for global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn that can simultaneously benefit the economy, the environment and our communities.

Boulder, CO – May 19, 2020, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) today released its latest study that describes four core principles of stimulus and recovery that should guide global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. Together, the principles in the paper are a framework for policy and decision makers that demonstrate how we can build back better and advance low-carbon economies that deliver a cleaner, healthier, more just and more sustainable future.

“The world is going through an enormous crisis impacting us all, first and foremost those who have fallen ill and their loved ones. Looking forward, stimulus and recovery investments will be vital to our collective rebuilding. These investments must be targeted to help us in the near term and set us up for the long term,” said Jules Kortenhorst, CEO at RMI.

Global Stimulus Principles: The Economy We Build Should Not Be the Same Economy We Decarbonize is the first in a series of six reports that outline how targeted stimulus and recovery investments by countries around the globe can help to simultaneously address both the pandemic-caused economic crisis and the looming climate crisis.

The paper advocates for a green approach to stimulus and recovery that provides multiple benefits for each unit of investment across the economy, the environment and our communities

The four core principles for a green stimulus and recovery presented in the paper are:

• Create jobs and grow the economy: prioritize investments with the greatest job creation and economic growth potential.
• Support public health and reduce air pollution: in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, support industries and technologies with the potential to improve public health.
• Enhance economic, energy and climate resilience: prioritize the industries, technologies and systems that help people weather or adapt to unexpected shocks or crises.
• Decarbonize: prioritize investments that will enable the world to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature rise to well below 2.0⁰C with best efforts to limit warming even further to 1.5⁰C.

In addition, the paper provides guidance for evaluating stimulus and recovery options based on the investment required, potential for job growth and anticipated greenhouse gas emissions reductions. It also presents a framework for prioritizing and integrating selected actions over time.

“Just as with the climate crisis, the crisis the world is facing right now requires a collaborative, global response to move us forward on the path we need,” said Carla Frisch, principal at RMI and co-author of the first white paper.

In the coming weeks, RMI will release papers with recommendations for green stimulus and recovery investments and actions specific to the United States, China, India, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean that can help optimize efforts to rebuild in these countries and regions.

To download the Global Stimulus Principles paper, visit Global Stimulus Principles: The Economy We Build Should Not Be the Same Economy We Decarbonize

Media Inquiries please contact:
Nick Steel, Media Relations Manager, T: +1 347-574-0887, E: nsteel@rmi.org

Notes to Editors

About Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—an independent nonprofit founded in 1982—transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; the San Francisco Bay Area; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or follow us on Twitter @RockyMtnInst.