IPCC report author urges governments to relax spending discipline amid climate backlash

Countries should spend as much as 10% of their GDP on climate action, the equivalent in the UK in 2021 of £312bn, argues Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lead author François Gemenne

Governments should relax their focus on public spending control in favour of ramping up green investment, a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report published in 2023 has said. François Gemenne suggested countries should look to spend as much as 10 per cent of their gross domestic product on climate action and change the way they communicate around the need to reduce emissions urgently.