A Green Global Recovery? Assessing U.S. Economic Stimulus and Prospects for International Coordination

This policy brief from the World Resources Institute evaluates the potential for 'green' components within U.S. economic stimulus efforts to create jobs and reduce energy costs, while cautioning that such measures cannot replace comprehensive climate and energy policy.

• Green recovery investments can stimulate the economy and create employment while providing energy cost savings. Based on the author's scenarios, every billion dollars invested creates an average of 30,100 jobs and results in annual energy cost savings of $450 million for the economy.
• Short-term green stimulus spending is insufficient to meet broad climate goals or eliminate dependence on foreign energy. On average, these scenarios reduce annual CO2 emissions by 592,600 tons per billion dollars spent, which is far below the billions of tons required for climate stabilization.
• While not a total solution, green recovery efforts can lower the eventual cost of comprehensive climate and energy policies, particularly if they are implemented quickly and complement future legislation.
• The economic crisis offers a chance to establish a multilateral approach to climate change. The author suggests that G-20 leaders meeting in London in April should coordinate the green elements of national stimulus programs and evaluate their impact on long-term emission goals to build confidence for UN-led negotiations in Copenhagen.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). A Green Global Recovery? Assessing U.S. Economic Stimulus and Prospects for International Coordination. https://www.wri.org/research/green-global-recovery-assessing-us-economic-stimulus-and-prospects-international

Chicago

World Resources Institute. A Green Global Recovery? Assessing U.S. Economic Stimulus and Prospects for International Coordination. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/green-global-recovery-assessing-us-economic-stimulus-and-prospects-international.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=A Green Global Recovery? Assessing U.S. Economic Stimulus and Prospects for International Coordination |url=https://www.wri.org/research/green-global-recovery-assessing-us-economic-stimulus-and-prospects-international |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendgreen, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{A Green Global Recovery? Assessing U.S. Economic Stimulus and Prospects for International Coordination}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/green-global-recovery-assessing-us-economic-stimulus-and-prospects-international}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }