Damn the Economy, Save the Paris Agreement!

Tom Finnerty15 Apr, 2020 < 1 Min Read

I'm glad he has his priorities straight:

Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi warned on Monday that the Paris climate accord could face death if steps to fight global warming were put on the backburner to facilitate the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Many economists and policymakers are forecasting a steep global recession this year as countries are forced into lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus, curtailing business activity in a major blow to jobs and incomes.

“It would virtually mean the death of the Paris accord if we gave priority unconditionally to economic recovery, while neglecting the environment,” Koizumi told Reuters in an interview.

To date, there have been only 109 deaths from the coronavirus in Japan, although last week prime minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency in the Land of the Rising Sun -- one that is far less socially and economically restrictive than those in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. So that's a relatively easy call for Koizumi to make.

Still, if an imaginary threat at some distant point in the future outweighs your country's current health and economic crises... that's not a cult at all.

 

Tom Finnerty writes from New England and Ontario.

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