CEOs: Global Warming Calls for Credit Crunch-Style Action

"The reaction to the credit crisis has shown that an internationally coordinated, bold response to a global challenge is possible," say Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd, James E. Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy, and Rob Morrison, chairman of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

"When world leaders meet in Copenhagen in December 2009 to set out a new global climate treaty it is vital that they remember this lesson. The international business community is expecting an ambitious and globally coordinated framework to limit the impacts of climate change which utilises all the tools in the box, including mobilising markets and reforming institutions and regulations," adds DiPiazza.

In strikingly clear terms for a statement by private sector operators, the essay, "Tackling Emissions Growth: The Role of Markets and Government Regulation," stresses the need for a clear and real price on carbon dioxide emissions and a cap on greenhouse gases to be decided by the latest at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15). This will steer choices for consumers, businesses, and governments over the coming decades and would form the basis of a low-carbon economy in the decades leading up to 2050.

The onslaught of the financial crisis, with its history of ignored warnings, highlights the risks and dangers of doing nothing. The potential impacts of climate change could significantly reduce global consumption, research shows. At the same time, addressing the issue early, with the expenditure of 1% of GDP, could substantially reduce the risks of more serious impacts. The acceleration in global warming and the associated economic costs call for global crisis action on par with last weekend's G20 Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, in Washington.

The authors encourage world leaders to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions and further call for:

• Well-regulated carbon markets, to include more sectors and countries, better linked and more ambitious in terms of setting deeper, longer-term emissions cuts;
• Governments to compliment market measures with non-market regulations, such as cost-effective standards on fuel and energy efficiency in transport and homes, and encourage more sustainable practices;
• More direct government investment, through public-private partnerships to support the development and early-stage demonstration and deployment of clean technology, such as carbon capture and storage.

The Copenhagen Climate Council Thought Leadership Series is a collection of inspirational, concise and clearly argued pieces from some of the world's best thinkers and business leaders on climate change. The pieces will provide input to the World Business Summit on Climate Change, in May 2009. Authored by global investors, scientists, designers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and policy makers, the essays are designed to send strong messages to COP15 on how to remove barriers and create incentives for implementation of new solutions in a post-Kyoto framework.

Click here to read "Tackling Emissions Growth: The Role of Markets and Government Regulation."