New York – «Achieving zero emissions by 2050 is not enough. The Glasgow summit will have to decree the end of investments in all fossil fuels and from what I hear there are good chances ». What Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and advisor to the UN Secretary General Guterres hears, comes from direct contacts with policy makers, including his recent visit to Rome and the Vatican.
How do you rate Biden’s climate initiatives?
“Special Envoy Kerry is doing a great job and the White House Digital Summit was a success because it had a big political impact. Something very serious is happening. The direction of energy companies changes, for example in the field of renewable sources and electric cars, but also in the financial sector, for the money invested in decarbonisation. Diplomacy wants all governments to commit to zero emissions by 2050 at COP26 in November. Europe and the US are there, China must anticipate from 2060. However, I think there is a reasonable possibility of leaving Glasgow with a political change. more serious, namely the approval of the request contained in the latest IEA report to terminate all investments in fossil fuels. It is possible, from what I hear ».
Defeating Covid is essential, otherwise it slows the recovery and ecological transition. Where are we at?
«The real emergency is the global one, and the priority must be to ensure that the doses reach the whole world. This responsibility falls on the US, the EU, Great Britain, Russia and China, which must stop gambling, argue over geopolitical disputes, exploit vaccine diplomacy, and instead write a global plan for allocation with the producers ».
Through Covax or by sharing excess doses?
“Both things. In July, the IMF will approve the new Special drawing rights for 650 billion dollars: they are enough and they are moving forward, because to stop the pandemic in developing countries, i.e. vaccines, medicines, tests, medical supplies, between 60 and 80 billion are needed. However, it is necessary for the producing countries to coordinate for distribution. If they do, full immunization of adults around the world is possible by early 2022 ”.
Are governments exploiting Covid to take away people’s freedom?
“The rest of the world is watching us as we vaccinate our citizens and wondering when they will receive the doses. Here the instability and danger of variants grow, humanitarian crises explode, global recovery is undermined. Our governments are not doing their job well: solve the emergency, and even freedoms will be safe ».
How do you rate Biden’s business plans?
“Critics say they are huge and accuse him of being a socialist, but in reality they are spread over ten years and invest just 1% of GDP. The truth is that the US remains a plutocracy dominated by Reaganian neoliberalism and refuses to do its own good, which would be to promote growth by healing inequalities ”.
Don’t you worry about inflation and employment?
“Inflation at 4.2% is drugged by the fact that it is measured in relation to April 2020, when there was also the collapse of oil. The real one is at 3%, and the Fed can control it if there is overheating. The truth is that we should pay for investments by raising taxes, which in Italy are on average 29% of GDP, compared to 40 or 50% in Europe. If you ask people in the polls, 70% are in favor, but the policy is against it. As for work, the sectors most affected by Covid, such as catering, tourism, hospitality, have just reopened. The offices are still empty, and the work in some fields will change permanently. Therefore it is wrong to judge on the data of a month ».
Will these policies reduce the social tensions, root of Trump’s victory in 2016?
«The US is a divided society: on the one hand there is the white working class, which is racist and forms the basis of Trump; on the other the rest. It is curious how Biden’s policies, i.e. investments in health, education, families, infrastructure, jobs, taxing corporations and the rich, favor the white blue-collar workers, who are instead with Trump for other social and cultural reasons. They are afraid of being replaced by minorities and this is also true for Europe: with us the fear is people of color, with you the immigrants ».
How is this crisis resolved?
«By continuing to win the elections. The majority, between 55 and 60%, are on Biden’s side. Republicans know this, and so they are betting on suppressing the vote of people of color to stay in power. Here is the real challenge ».
And in Europe?
“Be better, because the center is stronger. The German CDU is much more to the left than the Republicans in the US. But when the problem of migrants returns, as in the cases of Syria, for you Libya, or now Morocco, the right uses it to raise its head ”.
It’s Italy?
«It is incredible how in the midst of the most serious crises you find ways out. Draghi is not only a good premier: he is the best ».