Amid the rhetoric on climate change gushing forth from politicians both sides of the Atlantic, corporate environmental and responsibility managers may be forgiven for feeling a little bewildered.
UK chancellor (and prime minister in waiting) Gordon Brown recently called for a “new world order”, while opposition leader David Cameron said he wants a “second front in a green revolution”. Meanwhile in the US, climate change is becoming the main topic of discussion in both political parties in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections. Climate change has perhaps never been so significant in the battle for hearts and minds. But what seems to be noticeably absent from the debate is a practical, business-oriented discussion of the challenges facing the world today.
Building on previous reports – Facts & Trends to 2050 (2004) and Pathways to 2050 (2005) – the WBCSD’s Policy Directions to 2050 provides precisely this. Its emphasis is firmly on partnerships – between government, businesses and consumers, and its over-arching mission reflects the organisation’s business agenda, prioritising the need to maintain economic growth in tandem with a transformation of the way we all access, produce and consume energy. In 2005’s Pathways, the WBCSD identified five key areas where actions could help stabilise emissions along a clearly illustrated path. The organisation posited that we would need to see major changes in power generation; industry and manufacturing; mobility; buildings; and consumer choices. The latest report goes one step further, mapping out clearly illustrated policies in each of these areas.
A realistic approach
Those looking for a simple list of instructions to minimise their company’s impact on the environment should look elsewhere, since Policy Directions is not a “must do” list. The WBCSD instead provides a “roadmap” from which routes can be chosen.
Similarly the report does not recommend specific emission targets (but does use numbers to help readers realise the sheer scale of the problem). “[The report’s] primary purpose is to identify and explore policy options to sustain economic growth while transforming the way we access, produce and consume energy,” the WBCSD says in the introduction. And importantly, the authors remain fully in touch with the enormity of the challenge facing businesses, governments and consumers: “The inertia is likely to be as substantial as the need to act globally,” the WBCSD says.
The role of government
Government has a crucial role to play in all of this. It must create a level playing field, nurturing often high-cost technologies in their early stages and then helping these to the market. Some forward-thinking companies across the world have of course already seen the benefits of this entrepreneurial innovation – witness GE’s eco-imagination project. What the WBCSD wants is for governments to act as a “force for change” to spur this innovation. The WBCSD suggests an international framework built on national approaches would be the most appropriate course of action. “A climate change policy framework must recognise the sovereign nature of energy policy decisions. But at the same time provide clarity and a context within which such decisions are made.”
The international framework
One major problem with the existing international framework – the Kyoto Protocol – is it’s ‘top-down’ approach. By contrast, energy production and use patterns develop largely ‘bottom up’, from local, national and regional policies coupled with the availability and security of energy resources. “Aligning a new international climate change framework with existing approaches to energy access and security issues would offer greater scope for encompassing the large-scale changes needed in the energy system,” the report says, calling for a long-term pathway established with governments, scientists, technological organisations, business and civil society in order to reduce uncertainty.
No stone left unturned
What follows is a concise guide to tackling the challenges in each of the areas discussed: power generation, industry and manufacturing, mobility, buildings and consumer choices, along with a neatly illustrated framework spanning 2010 to 2050. Indeed, it seems that no stone is left unturned in this step-by-step guide. A must-read for both the specialist and non-specialist (for which the WBCSD provides a useful glossary).
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