The race for subsidies from developed countries to encourage the development of green industries could “do a disservice to emerging markets and the developing world”, warned Friday in Davos the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“If we strive to green the (countries) industrialized and we do not think about emerging markets, we are all cooked,” said Kristalina Georgieva during a roundtable organized on the occasion of the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Swiss.
The United States has implemented a plan providing billions of dollars in subsidies for manufacturers producing batteries for electric vehicles or solar panels on American soil, in particular in response to China’s very aggressive subsidy policy.
The European Union (EU), for its part, is trying to organize itself to help its industry in the face of the energy crisis and to deal with American and Chinese subsidies which risk causing some factories to flee from European soil.
“My biggest fear is that something that, in principle, is great for accelerating the transition to a green economy by using public money to boost private investment […] can serve emerging markets and the developing world,” Georgieva said, citing US and EU policies.
“If technology transfer is part of your plan, yes we will succeed” the international climate transition objectives, she however affirmed.
“The key issue is not China first, America first, or Europe first. The key question is the climate first, ”said French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire during the same round table.
The Minister, who wants Europe to further develop its public aid in response to American measures and is due to travel to Washington in February with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, defended himself from any “protectionism”.
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