Green Growth

posted on 02 Oct 06 by David Miliband (secretary of state for environment UK)
http://www.davidmiliband.defra.gov.uk

I will be in Mexico Monday to Thursday this week, at the second ‘dialogue’ established at the Gleneagles Meeting of the Group of 8 leading industrialised countries last July.  The dialogue engages the eight biggest economies, plus the next 12 biggest emitters of greemhouse gases, in an informal setting desgined at a minimum to promote understanding and at a maximum a) to create bilateral agreements and b) set the stage for climate change negotiations in the UN framework.

The Mexico meeting will focus on the costs of climate change, with a presentation of the emerging findings of the review by Sir Nicholas Stern; on technology, with information from the International Energy Authority on clean technology; and on finance, with dicussion of the World Bank’s proposed Energy investment Framework.

The key issue is to win the argument in the developed and developing world that green growth is not only necessary, it is possible.  In fact climate change imposes such costs that there is an umbilical link between the environment and the economy (and a link to security, but that is for another day).

In the UK since 1997, Saturday’s Independent reported that greenhouse gas emissions “have fallen by 7 per cent while the economy has grown by 25 per cent”.  It also pointed out that Arnold  Schwarzenegger cited the UK as a model this week as he signed the law which committed California to reduce carbon emissions.

In the UK employment in environmental industries has gone from 175 000 in 2001 to 400 000 in 2004.  This is a direct benefit from the drive to combat climate change.  But the link also arises from the fact that the costs of adaptation to climate change dwarf those of preventing it; that will be at the centre of the Mexico talks.

Tags: Carbon Emissions, David Miliband, Kyoto protocol, Privatisation