Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 29 October 2009

Combating global warming is a way to create renewed growth, prosperity and jobs, while the costs of inaction are too high, according to business leaders in the run-up to COP15, the UN Climate Change Conference being held in Copenhagen in December.

Combating global warming and mitigating climate change demand large investments that will be spread over many years and will have an impact long after the people who are alive today are gone from this world. Businesses will make those investments even if COP15 does not agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, even if Copenhagen is only one more step on the path to such an agreement sometime in the future.

But without the lead that agreement at COP15 would give, positive worldwide economic development will be slow.

Such was the message authored by leaders of businesses and industries that was presented yesterday at a conference hosted by the magazine Monday Morning.

In their statement, the captains of industry “urge governments to show leadership and commitment in this final phase and help sustain our economy and the environment. We call upon heads of state to go to Copenhagen in December and seize this historic opportunity.”

They argued that a successful agreement at COP15 can ensure that the opportunity to create more, new green jobs is not lost; that the huge investment potential does not disappear into thin air; and that the future of the global market place is ensured.

Agreement could create as many as 10 million new green jobs, unleash huge investments in new, low-carbon markets and thereby spur economic growth, said Jeff Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric (GE).

“In business you always say when is the right time, and we think the right time is now,” Immelt said. “If you have high unemployment, this is one of the ways to create jobs. Everyone wants to lead in green technology - every Prime Minister, every President. The pipeline is very rich. Entrepreneurship is strong. Corporate commitment is high. We should not see technology as a barrier but a facilitator. The investments we make will be around long after we are gone and creating them without a framework will be more difficult. Countries have to decide whether they are leaders or followers.”

Adding that there must be a price for carbon and a cap on carbon emissions, to encourage development of the best technologies, Immelt said GE and other big companies have really said it is time for the US to drive forward the need for solutions to climate change.

The industrial leaders stressed that business will play its part, “but it is critical that the negotiations create an environment that will unlock the potential of business to do what it does best: to invest profitably, to innovate and bring affordable low carbon products and services to billions of consumers around the world.

“Copenhagen can mark a new beginning. It’s important to seize this opportunity now,” the industrial leaders said.

“If we miss this opportunity, it will not come back and we lose a global momentum that has been building over several years,” said Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard. “In case of failure, business will be the biggest loser. So I warmly welcome the message today from business. I really hope that their voice is heard all over the world. I strongly support their message. We must not let the world off the hook.”

“Business leaders must state loud and clear – as this impressive group does today – that combating global warming is a way to create renewed growth and prosperity and that the costs of inaction are too high,” said Erik Rasmussen, founder of the Copenhagen Climate Council. “We need to hear this voice in order to build the necessary political confidence.”