Environmentalists make a case for leaving fossil fuels in the ground

FILE PHOTO: Vapor is released into the sky at a refinery in Wilmington, California March 24, 2012. REUTERS/Bret Hartman/File Photo

(Reuters) - Economic, climate and healthcare upheavals point to the need to move toward developing cleaner energy sources, environmentally friendly jobs and healthier communities, participants in a Reuters Next panel said on Tuesday.

A new U.S. presidential administration promising to reverse job losses, re-embrace the Paris climate accord to limit warming and stem the COVID-19 pandemic creates an opportunity to rethink the dominance of fossil fuels over the economy, they said.