Climate Action Tracker Global Update: Pandemic Recovery with Just a Hint of Green

This briefing by the Climate Action Tracker analyzes COVID-19 recovery packages from five major emitters and updates global temperature projections, concluding that pandemic-related emission dips are not structural and will not significantly lower long-term warming.

• An analysis of 106 domestic measures across China, EU27, India, South Korea, and the USA shows that overarching recovery packages represent between 8% and 14% of GDP. Specifically, the EU27, India, and South Korea have investments exceeding 8% of GDP, while the USA and China reach up to 14% of GDP. However, detailed information on individual interventions accounts for only 0.5% to 2.5% of GDP.
• Current global warming is 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, with a projected rise to 2.9°C based on current policies, failing to meet the Paris temperature limit of 1.5°C. While the economic downturn from COVID-19 is expected to lower emissions in 2030 compared to pre-pandemic scenarios, this is not due to decarbonisation or structural economic changes and is therefore not sustainable long-term.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2020). Climate Action Tracker Global Update: Pandemic Recovery with Just a Hint of Green. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/climate-action-tracker-global-update-pandemic-recovery-with-just-a-hint-of

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Climate Action Tracker Global Update: Pandemic Recovery with Just a Hint of Green. 2020. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/climate-action-tracker-global-update-pandemic-recovery-with-just-a-hint-of.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Climate Action Tracker Global Update: Pandemic Recovery with Just a Hint of Green |date=23 September 2020 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/climate-action-tracker-global-update-pandemic-recovery-with-just-a-hint-of |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2020climate, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Climate Action Tracker Global Update: Pandemic Recovery with Just a Hint of Green}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/climate-action-tracker-global-update-pandemic-recovery-with-just-a-hint-of}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }