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Deputy Managing Director Zhang Speech:
Climate Change: From Awareness to Action
06/09/2020 Since 4 years

Delphi Economic Forum V: “The Day After”
June 9, 2020

I was looking forward to attending the Delphi Forum in March before our world got turned upside down. But I am very pleased to be invited to participate today, in this virtual format, to discuss “The Day After.”

The world is currently focused on one crisis—namely, the COVID-19 pandemic. Greece’s response has been proactive and well-organized. Timely quarantine measures have limited the spread of the disease, while a forceful stimulus package has provided support to vulnerable households and firms. Going forward, given limited fiscal space, every effort should be made to strengthen the targeting of fiscal support.

But lurking “the day after” is another crisis—slower moving, perhaps, but equally critical. I’m talking, of course, about climate change. We’ve known for years that urgent action is needed, but it’s perhaps even more apparent now, in the wake of this pandemic, that we shouldn’t mess with Mother Nature. Moreover, the two crises are interlinked, because some of the economic policy decisions taken today will affect climate outcomes tomorrow.

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