Businesses and governments must take climate action now
Investor groups representing £13 trillion in assets are calling on businesses and governments to action against climate change by investing in a low-carbon economy.
At the 2010 Investor Summit on Climate Risk in New York on Monday, investor groups met to discuss the implications of the climate negotiations held in Copenhagen in December.
High profile leaders in the fight against climate change such as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, United States Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern and former Vice President Al Gore were also in attendance.
The investor groups, made up of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) disputed that is imperative "investors, businesses, and governments cannot wait for a global treaty before taking action," releasing a document guiding governments on how to initiate investor participation in a low-carbon economy, entitled Investor Statement on Catalyzing Investment in a Low-Carbon Economy.
The Investor Statement on Catalyzing Investment in a Low-Carbon Economy acknowledges some progress towards emissions caps and reductions was achieved at the climate conference in Copenhagen, but states countries must "act now to catalyze development of a low-carbon economy and to attract the vast amount of private capital necessary for such a transformation."
The statement focuses on offering recommended strategies on how to initiative relationships to create a public-private partnership to assist carbon emissions goals. It goes on to state that leading and developed nations should solidify carbon emissions targets immediately and aim to reduce greenhouse gasses by up to 95% by 2050 and legislative bodies should set prices on carbon towards developing a stable carbon market.
The document stressed that carbon initiatives should not stop at developed countries, with public-private mechanisms to be created to help developing countries in climate adaptation as well.
At the event, Paul Clements-Hunt, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) said, "85% of financing for climate change mitigation will come from private investment."
The Investor Statement on Catalyzing Investment in a Low-Carbon Economy keenly points out "Investors will seek every sound investment opportunity, but until governments establish policies and rules that make low-carbon strategies the clear strategic choice for all businesses, we will not be able to deploy capital into low-carbon investments at the scale required".
The reflection from COP15, however, has pointed to the media-covered scenes of developing nations refusing to allow text referring to private investment in any agreement over of qualms that such language might lead to less public investment by developed economies.
Noting that the comprehensive climate change policies in Germany has led to "eight times more renewable energy jobs per capita than the United States," the investor statement said, "Governments must provide clear and ambitious policy signals to attract international investment and be competitive in the global race to develop and transition to clean energy and other low-carbon technologies."
Author: Diva Rodriguez |Climate Action
Image credit: nagyman/Flickr
