Climate change is a formidable global challenge. Left unmanaged, the consequences of a changing climate will have significant negative impacts on health, economics, politics, security, and ecology.

Today, the world remains far from meeting its agreed-upon climate targets and is not on a sustainable pathway for reaching them.

The Biden administration has come into office looking for opportunities to use U.S. leadership and multilateral engagement to catalyze more ambitious policies to tackle climate change. Encouraging greater action is a difficult task made more onerous by the economic pressures resulting from Covid-19. Working with other countries is also fraught with the tension between countries and the stresses and strains that exist throughout the multilateral system.

The current moment of economic and geopolitical turmoil does, however, afford some near-term opportunities at the nexus of economic policy, development, and trade. This report proposes three G20 initiatives that could help the Biden administration meet its goals: the mobilization of green investment, the enablement of green debt relief, and the promotion of green industrial policy.

Each proposal targets an opportunity created, or exaggerated, by the Covid-19 crisis. Each takes advantage of existing momentum within the G20. Each requires U.S. leadership and collaboration with other like-minded countries to advance. Most importantly, each would deliver tangible progress toward shared climate and development goals, moving beyond empty promises and unaccountable targets and toward tangible reforms.

Green Development Network First, the Biden administration can inject much-needed momentum into the green recovery agenda through coordinated investment in renewable energy across the developing world. An expanded role for government spending on green industries should be the centerpiece of global cooperation. While richer nations can fund this investment through deficits and debt, developing countries need more help.

To focus green public investment, the United States should lead a Green Development Network in a 30/30/30 challenge. This network would help 30 countries reach 30 percent non-hydro renewable energy generation by 2030. Functionally, the network would: ▪ Streamline and focus existing institutions, initiatives, and innovations toward a targeted goal which is measured in real-world outputs; ▪ Mobilize the suppliers of finance, such as export credit agencies, development finance institutions, and multilateral development banks; ▪ Agree on standards that projects have to meet in order to qualify for funding; ▪ Create a pool of recipient countries; and ▪ Develop targeted strategies (or covenants) for each country, apportioning responsibilities between institutions as appropriate.