This week, the leaders of Climate Week, opened NASDAQ with the ringing of the bell. This symbolic gesture symbolizes the purposes of Climate Group’s conference: to fuse the private and public sector in combating climate change. The weeklong conference brought together pioneers of alternative energy, business leaders, and government officials to posit new ways to collaboratively tackle environmental issues.
The most exciting outcome of this event was the shared understanding that government, acting as a unitary actor, has failed to effectively combat the issue. The CEO of Climate Group, Steve Howard, acknowledges that the only effective approach is working through two mediums,
“Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 will require investment of US$45 trillion. Financing of this magnitude will require the biggest public-private partnership of all time but will unlock a clean industrial revolution that will be good for the economy, good for jobs and good for the environment."
Certainly, this statement set the precedent for the week as the main goal was to generate an international-public private response to climate change. The most promising and interesting component of the Climate Week was the remarks and strategies proposed by Steve Barker, the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change in the UK. Barker discussed concrete methods for combating the issue, which he believes necessitates a trinity of money, innovation and government support. After Barker’s travels to India, he analyzed the barriers to green investment and proposed the concept of a Green Investment Bank in the UK. It is these types of unprecedented ideas that made this year’s Climate Week distinct from other conventions on global warming. In theory, the Green Investment Bank would help to heal Britain’s economy and provide a new job market in green energy.
Barker’s novel ideas represent only part of the policies proposed during the week- long event. The event ranged from discussing new technologies such as the NYC Cool Roof Plan to how to finance low carbon technology. As Han Seung-Soo, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea said, “"While there is no silver bullet to dealing with the climate challenge, I am heartened to see a broad coalition from all sectors of society striving to achieve green growth…” Han Seung Soo is right—the coalition of people climate change in a practical way is incredibly re-assuring.
For more information about the events at Climate week, follow this link: http://www.climateweeknyc2010.org/