The Great Debate
Business must take the lead on carbon management
Léo Apotheker is CEO of SAP. The views expressed are his own.
Most people who followed the Copenhagen climate talks in December will have been disappointed.
While the agreement brokered by the group of countries that included the United States, Brazil, China, India and South Africa and ratified by most of the attending countries is being touted as a success of sorts, it fell far short of the expectations that had built up, and achieved very little in concrete terms.
U.S. cap-and-trade choice inferior to carbon tax
– John Kemp is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own –
President Barack Obama’s first budget puts climate change at the heart of the administration’s long-term economic plan. But despite the clear theoretical advantages of a simple carbon tax, he seems set to follow the EU and California in opting for a cap-and-trade system.
The budget plan commits the administration to work with Congress on an economy-wide emissions reductions program, based around cap-and-trade.
It also anticipates almost $650 billion in revenues over 10 years from selling these yet-to-be-agreed pollution permits, and proceeds to spend it on investment in clean technologies ($120 billion) and rebates for vulnerable families, businesses and communities ($525.7 billion).
We can achieve what ever we put our minds to as a society. There are few technological limitations. The greatest impediment to moving forward on sustainable energy consumption is making it work under market conditions. Capitalism is the true world religion in daily practice. Instead of worrying about the impact of change to the economy, we should consider the impact that the lack of change would have on our planet. Where does that that come up in any business model?
On the other hand, we can always plod on like dinosaurs. Right Phoenix1?
Clean energy investment needs greener light
– Paul Taylor is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Investors in clean energy are like motorists stuck at broken traffic lights. The public policy light is green but the price and credit lights are deep red.
Investment in wind, wave and solar power should be booming after the European Union last year adopted an ambitious goal to draw 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 to help fight global warming, and U.S. President Barack Obama made green power a central plank of his government’s policy.
But the credit crunch, economic recession, the spectacular fall in oil prices since last July and a record low European carbon price have cooled investors’ ardour.
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Hi,
Climate Change is an issue for sure. But it is one of the issues bothering human welfare. Not the top priority slot. The developed countries or better still, the mega corps want to maintain their stronghold on world economy and influencing the governments of western world by not shouldering the responsibility of plundering the planet. On the other hand, they insist on hand twisting the developing countries and want them to comply with the pollution norms set unilaterally. It must be the rule that those who have spoiled the climate must pay for its restonation. The selfish attitude of the western developed countries need to be deplored. Who is going to bell the cat?
It has been rightly observed by one of the responders that there are fewer safe lungs and we must protect them. Let us not be led astray by the verbosity at various platforms including Davos. China is also to be blamed for large scale carbon emission and shortly will join the band wagon of western countries for its own self interest. A gentle and democratic country like India should not fall pray to the pitfalls of environment pollution. Self discipline commitment of Prime Minister ManmohanSingh should be an example for all other countries to emulate and implemented in action to save the earth.
Best Wishes.
Sharad Kapadia
President, Surat Citizens’ Council Trust, Surat, India