Coorporate Climate Response: Employing Energy Efficiency

One of the main themes of the first day of this conference has been energy efficiency improving corporate efficiency. This case, as argued so stongly by Amory Lovins et. al., is simultaneously encouraging and disconcerting. There was very little actual talk about climate change. Whilst, little conversation on the climate science is perhaps a good thing-there is no distracting debate-it is also a problem. The more we seperate the climate crisis from the case for business action (using an intermediary existing business consideration) the colder the case for action seems to me. I could get passionate about saving the rainforests, my fellow human beings and our civilisation. I would find it less easy to take the degree of action required in the name of saving some money.

This is perhaps the devide between business world and climate change campaigner; being an optomist the search for money has never been a weakness for business! Niggling final question--how many of these people know the science and see the enormity of the challenge?

Here is a great background on the latest science by the UK's leading climate policy institution, the Tyndall Centre. It explains that the govornments 60% by 2050 target implies atmospheric co2 concentrations far beyond any safe (or non-catastrophic level). It is woefully inadequate. Can business act fast enough, it is preparing to...my answers would be perhaps (but with significant changes to many business models) and no (at least not to a significant degree).

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