I have just returned from Asia, a region abuzz with talk of energy and climate as it gears up to host the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change later this year.
The year 2007 has been something of a watershed for issues of sustainability, especially climate and ecosystems and the wider impacts for human activity.
Today, no-one should be in any doubt that climate change is upon us. The science is clear. The effects are becoming increasingly apparent as evidenced by extreme weather patterns and a growing number of natural disasters. Climate change has entered the mainstream. It has made its way on to the agendas of global conferences; the media publish climate-related stories daily, and progressive business is becoming a leading advocate for action.
The big question now is how we are going to respond. If globalization has taught us anything over the last two decades, it should be that we are all inextricably linked and that our actions all impact upon one another. Nowhere is this truer than with climate change. Rising to the challenge therefore will require coordinated policies and actions by society as a whole, including governments, business and civil society. This will be no small task.
Perhaps one of the biggest issues confronting us is that in terms of effects on climate, GHG emissions seem to be nearing saturation point. However, global energy consumption and GHG emission patterns are unequal. But this is beginning to change as the rate of industrialization in developing countries, especially China and India, accelerates and they begin to play catch up.
In the name of equity and of global economic and political stability, these countries cannot be excluded from industrialization and growth. Developing countries need to achieve economic growth while not contributing to increased CO2 emissions.
This means that traditional sources of energy, such as fossil fuels like coal and oil, whose increased use helped to trigger Europe’s and the United States’ industrial revolutions in the 1850s, will not be a sustainable option for developing countries in the long-term unless they are made cleaner. The solution will lie in the transition to clean, low-carbon economies and the sequestration of emissions.
The business community has begun to recognize the importance of finding mechanisms to balance these competing challenges. But business often finds itself in the eye of the storm as it tries to juggle with the trade-off between generating economic growth – and profit – with emissions and natural resource use.
In this, business is faced with another equally compelling challenge: the need to change perceptions. Though numerous industry sectors – many of whom are represented among the WBCSD membership – are starting to be proactive and seek solutions, this is not necessarily apparent to the wider public. Where emissions and resource use are concerned, business is regularly seen as part of the problem, rather than the bringer of solutions.
Business has been working on integrating the three pillars of sustainable development – economic growth, ecological balance and social progress – into all aspects of its operations.
However, all these efforts will remain moot if the conditions for their implementation are not right. Governments need to step in and create the right framework conditions.
What is needed is for governments to draw up the necessary long-term enabling conditions and provide incentives and win-win solutions for better and more sustainable development within their respective countries.
This was the message that emerged very clearly from my discussions with the many involved stakeholders during my trip to Asia and the message that they hope will be carried to the upcoming Conference of the Parties in Bali.
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