section_path: Overall economic contraction/Environment
section_name: Environment
paragraph_text: Environment
  
  A study published in August 2020 concluded that the direct effect of the response to the pandemic on global warming will likely be negligible and that a well-designed economic recovery could avoid future warming of 0.3 °C by 2050. The study indicates that systemic change for decarbonization of humanity's economic structures is required for a substantial impact on global warming, which also has economic aspects. Beyond targeted financing of green projects or sectors, contemporary decision-making mechanisms also allow for excluding projects with substantial environmental, social, or climate risks from financial relief. Over 260 civil society organizations called on Chinese actors to ensure that COVID-19 related Belt and Road Initiative funding excludes such projects. In November 2020 the IMF said that governments and central banks had promised $19.5 trillion of support since the coronavirus began.
  
  The United Nations Environment Programme analyzed $14.6 trillion of global spending in 2020, and found that only 2.5% was directed towards tackling climate change, advising governments to "make use of recovery spending to steer away from the worst impacts of climate change and inequality". A 2022 analysis of G20 country spending found that about 6% of their pandemic recovery spending has been allocated to areas that will also cut greenhouse-gas emissions, including electrifying vehicles, making buildings more energy efficient and installing renewables.
  
  The IMF estimates that, in September, G20 governments committed some $15 trillion in fiscal resources: $7 trillion in direct budget support and an additional $8 trillion in public sector borrowing and capital injections into corporations. This $15 trillion represented almost 14 percent of global GDP.