Reaching a global agreement on climate change this year in Copenhagen will require political courage from leaders around the world. With the future of their economies and national security at stake, it requires no less than that they live up to their most fundamental responsibility toward their citizens.
COPENHAGEN – Look at the leaders of our time. That these are tough times can be read in the lines of their faces, and in their stern looks. Responsibility weighs heavily when your economy is in crisis and people are being laid off in huge numbers. Nobody bears that responsibility more heavily than political leaders.
Day after day, efforts are made to find a way to recovery. Lights burn late into the night in government offices around the world. So shouldn’t “that climate thing” wait for better times?
No. Delay is not an option. The world has already waited too long and the issue needs urgent attention.
As the consequences of climate change become more visible, increasing numbers of people have come to recognize that the longer we hesitate, the more expensive the problem becomes. The longer we postpone action, the bigger the bill that we pass on to our sons and daughters and grandchildren will be.
At the same time, we understand that the sooner we deal with the challenge of climate change, the smaller the risk of chaos and catastrophe: droughts, hurricanes, sea-level rise, and huge numbers of climate refugees. As such, climate policy is also security policy. The more we reduce our use of coal, oil, and gas, the more we increase energy independency, the less we risk fights over energy and resources. Again, that’s security policy.
The faster a country and its businesses find new, innovative technologies, the stronger they stand economically. The cleaner the energy sources upon which we build our growth, the greater the reduction in air and noise pollution that we can achieve. Sustainable energy and energy efficient solutions provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and cleaner environments for our children to grow up in.
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Thus, dealing with climate change is not an anti-growth agenda. On the contrary, it is the only growth agenda we can afford in the twenty-first century. Simply put, those nations that deal with the challenges of climate change first and best will have the most advantageous starting point for political and economic strength.
Dependence on foreign oil and gas simply is not the best solution anymore – not in the US, not in Europe, not anywhere. We need to find an answer that will spur the development of cleaner energy to rid economies of dependency on foreign energy resources. There is no better way to do this than through a global climate agreement, which would establish the predictability and certainty that investors require.
Here it is noteworthy that Japan showed true leadership by announcing a cut in emissions by 25% by 2020 compared to 1990-levels. And China is also moving fast. At the United Nations Secretary-General’s Summit on Climate Change in September, China revealed plans to cut the carbon intensity of its economy, dramatically expand its commitment to renewable energy, and reduce its emissions by 2020 compared to business as usual.
In a global market that will keep growing in the coming years, the United States simply cannot afford to miss out on this opportunity. If the US doesn’t get a piece of the action, China will reap the first-mover advantages on the energy solutions that will replace fossil fuels. In that sense, handling the climate change challenge is also a question of political and economic leadership in the twenty-first century.
So, no, “that climate thing” can’t wait. It must be solved right now. And the deadline isn’t just set by the Danish government, which is hosting December’s UN climate summit. The world’s countries committed to that deadline two years ago in Bali. Yes, the global economy is in bad shape, but the world’s other challenges have not become smaller. In fact, the climate problem is growing, and solving it is not an obstacle to fixing the economy.
On the contrary, green business pays – both now and in the future – as Denmark has shown. The latest figures from 2008 show that Danish exports of alternative energy technology rose by 19% – roughly four times the increase for ordinary exports.
The world’s people expect their leaders to take responsibility for devising an ambitious, truly global climate agreement. The deal should include binding targets for reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by developed countries. It also should put the big developing economies on a cleaner and greener path to prosperity. And it needs to provide assistance to vulnerable countries – those that are hit first and hardest. Finally, the deal should bring additional financing to the table – some of which must fund adaptation in developing countries – and include an agreement on how we can work together to share technology and knowledge.
Reaching a global agreement on climate change this year in Copenhagen will require political courage from leaders around the world. With the future of their economies and national security at stake, it requires no less than that they live up to their most fundamental responsibility toward their citizens.
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COPENHAGEN – Look at the leaders of our time. That these are tough times can be read in the lines of their faces, and in their stern looks. Responsibility weighs heavily when your economy is in crisis and people are being laid off in huge numbers. Nobody bears that responsibility more heavily than political leaders.
Day after day, efforts are made to find a way to recovery. Lights burn late into the night in government offices around the world. So shouldn’t “that climate thing” wait for better times?
No. Delay is not an option. The world has already waited too long and the issue needs urgent attention.
As the consequences of climate change become more visible, increasing numbers of people have come to recognize that the longer we hesitate, the more expensive the problem becomes. The longer we postpone action, the bigger the bill that we pass on to our sons and daughters and grandchildren will be.
At the same time, we understand that the sooner we deal with the challenge of climate change, the smaller the risk of chaos and catastrophe: droughts, hurricanes, sea-level rise, and huge numbers of climate refugees. As such, climate policy is also security policy. The more we reduce our use of coal, oil, and gas, the more we increase energy independency, the less we risk fights over energy and resources. Again, that’s security policy.
The faster a country and its businesses find new, innovative technologies, the stronger they stand economically. The cleaner the energy sources upon which we build our growth, the greater the reduction in air and noise pollution that we can achieve. Sustainable energy and energy efficient solutions provide cleaner air, cleaner water, and cleaner environments for our children to grow up in.
Subscribe to PS Digital
Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.
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Thus, dealing with climate change is not an anti-growth agenda. On the contrary, it is the only growth agenda we can afford in the twenty-first century. Simply put, those nations that deal with the challenges of climate change first and best will have the most advantageous starting point for political and economic strength.
Dependence on foreign oil and gas simply is not the best solution anymore – not in the US, not in Europe, not anywhere. We need to find an answer that will spur the development of cleaner energy to rid economies of dependency on foreign energy resources. There is no better way to do this than through a global climate agreement, which would establish the predictability and certainty that investors require.
Here it is noteworthy that Japan showed true leadership by announcing a cut in emissions by 25% by 2020 compared to 1990-levels. And China is also moving fast. At the United Nations Secretary-General’s Summit on Climate Change in September, China revealed plans to cut the carbon intensity of its economy, dramatically expand its commitment to renewable energy, and reduce its emissions by 2020 compared to business as usual.
In a global market that will keep growing in the coming years, the United States simply cannot afford to miss out on this opportunity. If the US doesn’t get a piece of the action, China will reap the first-mover advantages on the energy solutions that will replace fossil fuels. In that sense, handling the climate change challenge is also a question of political and economic leadership in the twenty-first century.
So, no, “that climate thing” can’t wait. It must be solved right now. And the deadline isn’t just set by the Danish government, which is hosting December’s UN climate summit. The world’s countries committed to that deadline two years ago in Bali. Yes, the global economy is in bad shape, but the world’s other challenges have not become smaller. In fact, the climate problem is growing, and solving it is not an obstacle to fixing the economy.
On the contrary, green business pays – both now and in the future – as Denmark has shown. The latest figures from 2008 show that Danish exports of alternative energy technology rose by 19% – roughly four times the increase for ordinary exports.
The world’s people expect their leaders to take responsibility for devising an ambitious, truly global climate agreement. The deal should include binding targets for reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by developed countries. It also should put the big developing economies on a cleaner and greener path to prosperity. And it needs to provide assistance to vulnerable countries – those that are hit first and hardest. Finally, the deal should bring additional financing to the table – some of which must fund adaptation in developing countries – and include an agreement on how we can work together to share technology and knowledge.
Reaching a global agreement on climate change this year in Copenhagen will require political courage from leaders around the world. With the future of their economies and national security at stake, it requires no less than that they live up to their most fundamental responsibility toward their citizens.