Joy Montgomery

“I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying. And I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it. Except it will destroy our economy.” (United States Senator Marco Rubio in the Miami Herald, May 2014)

Dr. Ralf Martin, the lead researcher from Imperial College Business School, said: “Our research paper shows that clean technologies are not only environmentally friendly but they have the potential to make businesses more innovative , which can lead to economic benefits, especially if support is targeted at radical clean technologies that avoid fossil fuels altogether. Clean technologies are a relatively untapped source of wealth for countries all over the world. They could have a transformative impact on the global economy in a similar way that Information and Communications technologies did.”

Experts disagree on clean technology in many ways and for many reasons. The effects on the economy are just one area of disagreement. Worldwide, we can see the creation of innovative startups offering satisfying careers. Creating jobs must have a positive effect on the economy.

In the first article in the series, there were examples of how not coming together can have serious, negative impact. Disagreement won’t get us to where we need to go. Positive results come from agreement. Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are what we need. We can add a fourth element – COMMUNICATION.

There are examples of successful and promising economic outcomes.

EXAMPLE 1: Finland is exceeding goals for mitigating environmental impact. Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are paving the way. Ville Niinistö, Minister of the Environment or Finland, wrote an article for Climate Action, a publication working in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, that addresses the successes both environmentally and economically. The article, “Finland – creating a low-carbon country,” shows that all the stakeholders in a country can come together to make the necessary changes. Here is information about the effects on their economy:

“This could be called the beginning of a third industrial revolution – the green revolution. Finland has a lot to offer. The cleantech sector is already growing at a fast rate thanks to advanced energy efficiency, water management and bioenergy technologies, as well as know-how in combined electricity and heat production. The economic outlook of the cleantech sector is spectacular, especially for small and medium-sized companies, and the annual growth rate of this sector has already passed that of some traditional Finnish industries. In addition, the public sector aspires to develop cleantech even further; over one-third of Finnish public research and development investments are made in environmentally-sensitive industries.
International climate regulation has now been statistically proved to be a friend of Finnish industry. There is great potential in the current negotiations – potential that could secure an economically sound outlook that respects the environment. For Finland, ‘environmentally friendly’ is the path to the future.”

To read the entire article, see http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/climate-leader-papers/finland_creating_a_low_carbon_country

EXAMPLE 2: The Global Cleantech Summit 2016 was held on March 23rd and 24th. From The Climate Groups March 3rd posting, we see evidence that the relationship between clean technology and a healthy economy is expected to be powerful. Changhua Wu, Greater China Director of The Climate Group says, China’s economic plan is focused on, “strengthening engagement between clean technology companies, investors and government to capitalize on supporting the most dynamic and game-changing projects.” Here is more from the post on the strategy, a clear example of collaboration, cooperation, commitment, and communication:

Today, clean technology and energy productivity continue to move forward – smashing records in efficiency, costs and investments. And while the powerful, rising economy is still grounded in huge consumption of coal, clean technology is one way China can curb the “serious threat” posed by climate change, especially in many of its cities where air pollution is causing thousands of deaths every year.
But for every country to scale up its climate ambitions as set out in the historic Paris Agreement last December, cooperation is crucial. And because of this, collaboration a key focus of the Global Cleantech Summit.
The Summit will convene businesses, experts, academia and government representatives, providing a collaboration platform to facilitate investments and deployment of innovative clean technologies.
“Compelling economic and environmental returns are available when the right public-private partnerships are formed and smart investments are made,” underlines Changhua Wu.

For this entire article, see http://www.theclimategroup.org/what-we-do/news-and-blogs/global-cleantech-summit-2016-to-be-held-in-beijing-march-23-24/?platform=hootsuite

OUTLOOK: Countries and people are working together, we’re getting cleaner, jobs are being created, economic conditions are improving with collaboration, cooperation, commitment, and communication. We’re seeing that we can stop accelerating toward an unacceptable situation and head in the right direction. Doesn’t .5 by 2050 seem like a better goal than 1.5?

Joy Montgomery

Rose Bird, former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, said, “We have probed the earth, excavated it, burned it, ripped things from it, buried things in it, chopped down its forests, leveled its hills, muddied its waters, and dirtied its air. That does not fit my definition of a good tenant. If we were here on a month-to-month basis, we would have been evicted long ago.” We‘re not being good tenants. In the industrial nations, we’re the worst tenants. It’s way past time to become better tenants.

The Paris talks and resulting agreement between nations around the world, are focused on slowing the effects of global warming, reducing the acceleration of the damage that’s being done. Why is the focus only on setting a cap at an unacceptable level? Let’s put the brakes on, make a U-turn, and find ways to progress in the right direction.

We know what the causes are. Does anyone know how many solutions are being developed? In just one clean technology accelerator, the Cleantech Open, there are about 1,000 companies with solutions. How many accelerators and incubators are there around the world? How many problem solvers are there around the world? People are working on the problem. What’s in the way?

Too much is being done piecemeal. Clean technology failures are often the result of looking at just one standalone piece of the puzzle.

Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are what we need. Problem solvers and the people who can open doors or keep them shut need to be working together to develop solutions and make the changes we all need. Here are some examples of the kinds of non-collaboration that stand in the way of getting a desired outcome.

Example 1: An acquaintance purchased a lot in the mountains. CalFIre said, at that time, to keep a 30 foot firebreak around your building. The County required a Redwood tree five feet from one corner of the building, cedar trees just a few feet from one side, and other historically correct trees well within that 30 foot space. All of it is gone now – the house, the trees, the dream, a result of the 2013 Rim Fire in California. A nearby house with an adequate clearing around it is still standing and occupied. Two government agencies could not agree on regulations and recommendations. Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are what we need.

Example 2: In Nevada, where there is sun most of the year, residents invested in rooftop solar installations with a promise that they would be able to sell power back to the grid. For most of these people, it was a win-win. Their expenses would be reduced and they were proud of their commitment to a cleaner environment. The utility company put a cap on the amount of power they would buy back from these responsible people who invested heavily in their future and the future of all of us. The utility is considering grandfathering in the existing solar installations but residents are not going to add new installations if it’s financially disabling. Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are what we need.

You’ve undoubtedly seen similar examples of adversarial relationships that prevent good things from happening. They’re all around us.

Electronic vehicles are hampered by the lack of an infrastructure, battery issues, safety issues, range anxiety, opposition by providers of existing options, regulations that may be out of date or favorable to other technologies, and more.

Grey water systems are prevented by City and Health Department regulations. Certainly, no one wants cross contamination but there are legitimate uses for grey water that do not impact health or safety.

Water departments encourage conservation but have to raise the cost to the consumers to maintain the infrastructure.

In some areas, it’s illegal to collect rain water. What motivation can there be for that decision?

Investing effort and money in a single piece of the puzzle isn’t going to make a significant difference. It may bring the sought after financial ROI but we need to be looking at an ROI in environmental impact.

Imagine the impact if all of the stakeholders were to come together to find ways to deliver solutions.

Around the world cities are finding ways to reduce and even reverse their impact. We don’t have to imagine; we can see it happening.

This is an introduction to a series of articles that will touch on the most pressing issues and include interviews with experts whose insights, pro and con, can help us come together to deliver the solutions that are needed.

We can do better than the Paris Agreement. Let’s put the brakes on, make a U-turn, and find ways to progress in the right direction. Collaboration, cooperation, and commitment are what we need.