Climate change and the G-8 challenge

There may be disagreement among G-8 leaders about climate change, but they are under pressure to do something about it. Last month, the heads of 24 global companies issued a plea at a World Economic Forum Roundtable to the G-8 for action to mitigate climate change. "Companies who move expeditiously on climate change can find a competitive advantage that will give them an edge over other companies," said expert Bud Ris, Senior Fellow, New Risks, Centre for Strategic Insight, in an interview.

Read the full interview with Bud below, and if you read French, you can catch an online chat with Bud on Nouvelobs.com

There’s disagreement among the G-8 leaders about the science of climate change. How critical is consensus on this issue to mitigating the effects of climate change?

I believe there is some positive movement towards consensus on the science, which may be one of the most important outcomes of the G-8 meeting. Earlier this week, US President Bush clearly stated that he accepts the fact that climate change is a serious problem. That brings him more closely into alignment with the other G-8 leaders and with the scientific community. A few weeks ago, 11 national academies of science, including those from the US, China, India, UK, and Brazil, issued a statement confirming that climate change is already underway and is, in large part, caused by human activity. So the views of the scientific community are very clear on this point.

Last month you co-ordinated a G-8 Climate Change Roundtable at which 24 heads of global businesses agreed that the science was convincing and issued a joint plea to G-8 leaders. What steps did they call for?

The most important recommendation was a call for a clear and consistent global policy framework -- including all the major emitters of the gases that cause climate change -- that would extend at least to 2030. In order to make proper investments in climate change mitigation, the companies need more certainty and predictability in terms of what will be required. There are many market-based mechanisms (e.g. emissions trading, carbon taxes, technology incentive programmes) that can be employed to give companies the right price signals. Different nations or regional groupings of nations throughout the world may choose to utilize different measures. But, the key point is to ensure some level of consistency among them -- that is crucial for global companies who operate in many different parts of the world.

President Bush has said that any deal along the lines of Kyoto would wreck the US economy but how potent is such a call from the private sector to spur action?

Many of the Roundtable companies are already taking action, and showing that that can be done cost-effectively - without causing significant harm to their bottom lines. Indeed, with the right kind of market-based policy framework, many say that they can create additional shareholder value by taking action. Responding to the challenge of climate change won't ''break the bank.''

Why is it in businesses’ interest to change the way they operate in order to roll back climate change?

Companies who move expeditiously on climate change can find a competitive advantage that will give them an edge over other companies. This is particularly true for companies at the forefront of low-carbon technology development. It is also good for their reputation and brands -- especially now that many investors are looking for companies who act responsibly on issues like climate change.

What would you consider a successful outcome of the G-8 meeting?

I think one of the most important and useful results would be agreement by the US, China, India, and Brazil to engage in ongoing talks about how to design a policy framework within which they could all participate. This would not have to be within the Kyoto Protocol, but could be something that would move forward on a parallel track. Additionally, an agreement to accelerate deployment of low carbon technologies and infrastructure in a handful of emerging markets (e.g. China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico) would be very helpful in moving solutions forward.

Comments

[Alexander P]

Everybody is preoccupied by the climate change, but it is useless to discuss only the future whithout understanding the main cause of the climate transformation. My opinion is that the ocean and human activity on the ocean (mostly naval wars) has a big contribution in the matter. Aren't we ignoring that? Shouldn't we pay more attention to the ocean from now on?

Talking about the global action, I suggest visiting http://www.1ocean-1climate.com. It is a very interesting thessis on our past mistakes that should be avoided.

[shusurvey6]

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[Pincas Jawetz]

Global Warming/Climate Change/Sustainable Development are all very serious topics with implication to the World's Economy. Only those that will act out of honest acceptance of the facts will succeed in busines - those that stay in denial will fall at the road side.

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