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BUSINESS Friday 18 September 2020
UN chief: don't 'throw away' stimulus money on fossil fuels

By FRANK JORDANS and ing trees, he said.
PHILIPP JENNE Since leaving political of-
VIENNA (AP) — U.N. Sec- fice in 2011, the Austrian-
retary-General Antonio American actor has devot-
Guterres called Thursday ed time to environmental
on governments not to causes. A Republican, he
"throw away" economic has sparred with President
stimulus funds by support- Trump over climate issues.
ing fossil fuel industries that The meeting also heard a
contribute to global warm- video appeal from Ugan-
ing. dan climate activist Van-
Speaking at a virtual confer- essa Nakate, who called
ence on climate change, for the need to preserve
Guterres noted that coun- the Congo rainforest from
tries have "a choice of two destruction.
paths" as they mobilize tril- "Use your voice to speak
lions of dollars of taxpay- about the Congo rainfor-
ers' money for economic est, because millions of
recovery in the wake of the people heavily depend on
coronavirus pandemic. its existence," she said.
"We can either throw away Jane Goodall, the pioneer-
money on the fossil fuels of ing conservationist, cited
the past. That is the road the pandemic as a warn-
to more pollution," he said. ing for what can happen
"Or we can invest in the when humans treat the en-
technologies of the future, In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 file photo clouds of smoke are pictured over Europe's largest vironment with disregard.
renewable energy, nature- lignite power plant in Belchatow, central Poland. "To a large extent we
based solutions, sustain- Associated Press brought this (pandemic)
able transport and green on ourselves, by our disre-
technologies." fired plants. dent Donald Trump's stated ourselves: if investors aren't specting nature and disre-
"Only one of these paths is Several countries, includ- support for the coal indus- supporting those declin- specting animals," she said.
rational," he said. ing coal-reliant Germany, try. ing companies, why should "We've created conditions
The U.N. chief noted that have recently agreed to Guterres' appeal to gov- taxpayers?," Schwarzeneg- which make it easy for
large investors are already phase out the use of coal ernments to stop subsidiz- ger said by video link from pathogens to jump from an
pulling their money out of for electricity because of ing fossil fuel companies Los Angeles. "Governments animal to a person."
heavily polluting industries, the vast amounts of car- was echoed by actor and must realize what the smart "We need to rethink our
especially coal. bon dioxide produced former California governor money knows instinctively: relationship with the natu-
"Without taxpayer subsidies from burning it. Arnold Schwarzenegger, don't invest in the past." ral world," Goodall added.
they are bankrupt enterpris- In the United States, numer- who helped organize the Efficient uses of money "We need to get together
es," he said, claiming that ous coal-fired power plants Austrian World Summit in would include making to somehow develop a
building new renewable have been shut down in re- Vienna. buildings more energy-ef- new green economy and
energy plants is already cent years since 2010 and "When you hear that gov- ficient and weatherproof, perhaps we need to think
cheaper than continuing none of the nation's energy ernment plans to spend installing energy-efficiency of a new definition of what
to operate almost two-fifths companies are building a stimulus money bailing out appliances, cars using al- it means to be successful in
of the world's existing coal- new one, despite U.S. Presi- fossil fuels, we must ask ternative fuels, and plant- this life."q

COVID-19 danger continues to drive joblessness in U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pandemic upended the August, but that's still less
number of Americans ap- operations of American than half the jobs lost in
plying for unemployment companies, from factories March and April.
benefits fell last week to to family diners, weekly job- The recovery remains frag-
860,000, a historically high less aid applications had ile, imperiled by continu-
number of people that illus- never exceeded 700,000 ing COVID-19 infections as
trates the broad economic in the U.S. They've topped schools begin to reopen,
damage still taking place 700,000 for 26 consecutive and the failure to deliver
nine months after the first weeks. another economic rescue
case of COVID-19 was de- The overall economy, as package in Washington.
tected in the U.S. measured by the gross do- And companies continue
The Labor Department said mestic product, collapsed to lay off workers as they
Thursday that U.S. jobless at an annual rate of 31.7% absorb sales lost to the In this Sept. 2, 2020, file photo, a help wanted sign hangs on the
claims fell by 33,000 from from April through June, by pandemic. door of a Target store in Uniontown, Pa.
the previous week and that far the worst three months Raytheon Technologies Associated Press
12.6 million are collecting on record, as millions of Corp. this week said it plans
traditional unemployment jobs disappeared. to slash more than 15,000 Collins Aerospace. duced number of flights.
benefits, compared with The economy and job mar- jobs this year at its corpo- A sharp drop in travel has This spring, the airlines be-
just 1.7 million a year ago. ket have recovered some- rate offices, at jet engine- left the airlines with tens gan receiving $25 billion in
The pandemic has deliv- what from the initial shock. maker Pratt & Whitney and of thousands more em- federal grants and loans to
ered a colossal shock to Employers added 10.6 mil- at its aviation and military ployees than they need keep workers on their pay-
the economy. Until the lion jobs from May through equipment manufacturer to operate the vastly re- rolls for six months.q