Thursday, March 25, 2021 —Dr. Stelios Grafakos, Principal Economist of GGGI’s Climate Action and Inclusive Development Unit, delivered a virtual public lecture on the “Promise of Green Growth,” organized by the Centre for Sustainability, Equality, and Climate Action (SECA) of the Queens University Belfast.

Dr. Stelios highlighted that implementing a green recovery for climate action is both necessary and viable. The costs associated with tackling climate change continue to fall and socio-economic transformations to achieve net-zero by 2050 have significant co-benefits related to human well-being and prosperity, such as the potential for greater job creation compared to business as usual. He also emphasized that we need to move beyond solely considering current GDP when measuring progress in order to better capture the economic, social, and environmental progress being made. The financial sector needs to be reformed as well to encourage the phasing out of fossil fuels and incentivize the private sector to focus on green investments.

Dr. Stelios shared suggestions that are rich in empirical detail and led audiences to see the challenges that people face in terms of the climate crisis along with some hopeful indications of movement towards a green recovery.

Click here to view the presentation.