Every year, Davos is about the green (i.e. money). In recent years, with the rise of eco-consciousness, alternative energy, sustainability, and concerns about global warming, it’s also been about the other type of green (i.e. the environment). Last year, for example, the large British bank Barclays offered to purchase an offset for the carbon emitted by people traveling to attend the conference. (It didn’t offer to do anything about all the hot air emitted in the Congress Center). But this year, showy displays of green thinking have declined sharply. Barclays, hit hard by the credit crisis, is saving pence to offset the toxic emissions of bad debt. And with the price of oil and coal having plummeted, there’s less concern about how reliance on fossil fuels hinders development.

But one of the leading advocates of a global response to climate change says this is now time to shift priorities. I ran into Nicholas Stern, the British academic and former chief economist at the World Bank who headed up a huge investigation into the costs and economics of climate change. While the attention being paid to emissions and global warming is down this year, he’s convinced the focus on recovery can advance the fight against emissions. “All the evidence over the last year suggests that the problem is more worrying than we thought, that it’s getting worse,” he said. “But the evidence also shows that if we use opportunities and technology, and if we act strongly, we can manage the risks.” As governments contemplate a global coordinated stimulus, Stern argued “we should use this moment to invest in what would be the growth story in the next 20 years – low carbon, efficiency.” Insulating homes and buildings and stepping up investments in carbon capture make even more sense now that the price of many materials have fallen. “It makes eminent sense to make the recovery green,” he said. “I would suggest that if the world needs a $2 trillion fiscal boost, that something around $400 billion could be in the green area.” In the scheme of the problems being discussed at Davos this year, $400 billion actually doesn’t sound like that much money.