BUSINESS DAILY
As leaders from around the world continue their deliberations in Copenhagen, they do so against the background of one of the most profound economic crises of our times.
What we have been experiencing is a fundamental reset of the global economy and the dismantling of an economic model that has been proven to be unsustainable.
What seems incredible to many people is the fact that the intensity of this crisis was not widely foreseen or predicted. ‘Hindsight is indeed a great master’.
What we now need is to learn from the crisis and ensure that it will never happen again.
If the world could be forgiven for not foreseeing the severity and breadth of the economic crisis, the problem of climate change is staring us right in the face.
With the benefit of hindsight and the insights of science, we not only see the consequences of our carbon usage, but we can also chart the catastrophic consequences of failing to address the problem now.
Simply put, ‘a business as usual approach’ to climate change is not an option and it is incumbent on all of us, governments, businesses and other leaders to demonstrate decisive and strong leadership.
The main focus of the COP15 conference is to identify what commitments industrialised nations are prepared to give regarding cutting greenhouse gases and what financial and technical assistance they will give developing countries such as Kenya to deal with the impacts of climate change and make their economic development more sustainable.
For developing nations, the focus is on how they propose to grow their economies without vastly increasing their emissions.
It is still uncertain what the outcome of this summit will be at this stage – there are clearly divergent views and opinions on how best to tackle climate change while allowing developing nations to continue to grow and develop.
But it would appear that there is growing momentum abroad to reach some agreement to tackle the issue of climate change – the exact form of that remains to be seen.
The prize of reaching a positive and comprehensive agreement in Copenhagen or at a later date is not just environmental. It also has a social and economic dimension.
In addition to tackling the problem of climate change it brings a unique opportunity to deliver great economic benefits.
We at GE are optimistic for the future, because the global climate issue is not just a huge challenge; it is one of the biggest opportunities of our era.
We can solve one of the world’s biggest problems while we create millions of jobs for workers to build technology for the global economy for decades to come.
The global market in low carbon goods and services is already worth $4.3 trillion and is expected to grow by half again in the next decade – generating as many as 10 million new sustainable ‘green jobs’ globally in the process.
This will not happen without the creation of a positive environment by government.
Business recognises it must play its part and wants a positive outcome to the COP15 negotiations in the creation of a framework which allows business to do what it does best: to invest profitably, to innovate and bring affordable low carbon products and services to billions of consumers, and to create strong, new jobs around the world.
A strong and sustained global climate change regime, as Germany and Denmark did for wind energy, can spur adoption of clean energy technology and to drive investment and innovation for the future.
The development of such a regime in Europe was a key factor in GE’s decision to invest in the development of our offshore wind capability with the recent purchase of ScanWind, a Scandinavian offshore wind technology company.
While important initiatives can be undertaken at national and regional levels, the reality is that a global approach will be more effective and less costly. International co-operation is key to finding economically and politically sustainable solutions.
It has the advantage of reducing protectionist measures driven by those who fear “carbon leakage”.
We need to eliminate regulatory barriers to trade in clean energy technologies to make adoption of these technologies more cost-effective —not impose import tariffs and other barriers to trade in these items.
And we need to support innovators through robust intellectual property rights. The talks in Copenhagen can be an important step in this regard.
We also want to see adequate funding for research, development and deployment.
We need to reward investment in research and development (R&D), innovation and private risk taking.
Most countries only spend between 0.25 per cent and 1 per cent of their GDP on R&D.
Innovation will be key to helping economies thrive and win. We need to leverage government funding to develop cutting edge technologies.
Innovation will be one of the key drivers to future growth and prosperity.
The sudden decline in previously leading sectors reinforces the need to diversify into alternative sources of prosperity.
The opportunity exists to broaden the base of future economic growth to areas like green energy, environmental sciences, biotech and health.
Irrespective of the outcome of Copenhagen, GE for its part will move ahead with it ecomagination commitments and continue to invest in the development of new clean and greener technologies.
We have made a firm commitment to spend 6 per cent of our total industrial revenues annually in R&D.
There is now a momentum in place that will ensure that in Copenhagen and beyond we will continue to move closer to addressing the issue on a global basis.
We have all embarked on a journey; but we would be wrong to believe that Copenhagen is the final destination.
Dr Angbazo is GE’s President & CEO for East, West & Central Africa.
