The vast sums proposed to be spent under dubious national Green New Deals should be spent instead on health care, especially virus prevention and protection. This is the gist of an “Open Letter to World Leaders” from the Climate Intelligence Foundation.

Here is what CLINTEL says up front: “Your Excellencies, compared to COVID-19 climate change is a non-problem! It is based on immature computer models and it looks into the distant future. In the current health emergency, however, your attention to the peoples’ needs is today! Please, don’t continue pushing your zero carbon emission ambition in a time that the world is dealing with a deadly global crisis. Yes, there is an emergency, but it is NOT climate.”

CLINTEL specifically speaks to the leaders of the UN and EU, saying “People need an inspiring narrative that promises them a hopeful future. Today, for instance, it is totally inappropriate that the billion-dollar Green New Deal focused on climate is still on the agenda of leaders such as Mr. Antonio Guterres of the UN and Mr. Frans Timmermans of the EU.”

In the EU’s case green funds could begin to flow to the virus crisis almost immediately. There is a hundred billion euros of European Green Deal money that could be instantly reprogrammed. Listen to this: “The EU will also provide financial support and technical assistance to help people, businesses and regions that are most affected by the move towards the green economy. This is called the Just Transition Mechanism and will help mobilise at least €100 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions.” Hence, just replace in the Mechanism ‘green economy’ by ‘corona crisis’.

See https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

All the EU has to do is abandon this mindless transition to a so-called “green economy”. It would result in a very poor economy with very low returns. Overall the European Green Plan (EGP) proposes spending a trillion euros on a foolish attempt to change the global climate. CLINTEL says it would be far wiser to spend that money on greatly improving health care, with priority to virus protection.

In reality the EGP would cost many trillions of dollars, as would the U.S. Green New Deal endorsed by the Democrat presidential candidates. Candidate Bernie Sanders pegs his pet version at $11 trillion, which is still way low. Estimates run to $91 trillion. Some of that spending should go to upgrading the health care system, while the rest just goes way without harming the economy. The Democrats should endorse CLINTEL’s call for action instead of the foolish Green New Deal.

More broadly, the UN pushes all of the nations in the world to adopt expensive zero carbon plans, preferably as soon as the Glasgow climate summit in November. Now it is clear that the UN has the very wrong focus, already for decades. Instead the world needs to fix the present virus problem and prepare for the next. Again, global warming is a non-problem. The economic crisis due to the corona pandemic will hit all countries, including those with relatively small virus outbreaks. With proper prevention and response systems in place there is no reason to have these economic disasters being escalated.

CLINTEL’s strong advice to the world leaders is: “To revive the global economy don’t further increase government debts. Instead, apply the money intended for your costly Green New Deal to the present needs of people and society. Call it the COVID-19 RECOVERY PLAN. Be aware that in today’s crisis the conjectural policy of CO2 reduction is highly counterproductive!”

The letter’s eloquent summary statement says it all: “The world is moving to an open global economy of ten billion people. Top priority must be given to significant investments in a global health system that makes any pandemic less catastrophic. Considering COVID-19, climate alarmists and climate critics should admit that global warming is a non-problem. Therefore, stop fighting, step over your own shadow and work together against the deadly virus. In this tough battle we need each other!”

The full letter is here: https://clintel.org/message-clintel-fight-virus-not-carbon/

The health emergency is real; the climate emergency is constructed.

Fight virus, not carbon.