Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Columnist

Pandemic Is Hurting, Not Helping, Green Energy

Environmentalists and “degrowthers” are hoping the global economic slump is a model for phasing out fossil fuels. They are likely to be disappointed.

September 16, 2020 at 6:00 AM EDT

By Meghan L. O'Sullivan

Meghan L. O’Sullivan is a professor of international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the North American chair of the Trilateral Commission, she served on the National Security Council from 2004 to 2007.

Will solar be bigger than oil?
Photographer: David McNew/Newsmakers via Getty Images

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This is the second of three columns on the impact of Covid-19 on the energy transition. You can read the first here.

For most people, there was nothing to celebrate when the International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for global economic growth in June, anticipating a contraction of 4.9% for 2020. Yet for others, such as the small but persistent group of economists and others known as the “degrowth movement,” the Covid-induced economic slowdown has a silver lining.

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