ANALYSIS
Copenhagen Accord
mate change, including a commitment to gath-
er and share information on greenhouse gas
emissions, national policies and best practices
and launch national strategies for addressing
greenhouse gas emissions. It was not until 1997
that the Kyoto Protocol was agreed, and it did-
n’t come into force until 2005. If we apply the
same timescales to the Copenhagen Accord, we
could have to wait until 2022 for a legally bind-
ing agreement to come into force.
President Obama described this as “a mean-
ingful and unprecedented breakthrough”.
Gordon Brown described the deal as a “vital first
step”. Is this how we leave the world to the next
generation? Communiques expressing insuffi-
cient commitment and spin doctors telling us a
non-committal agreement that shows scant
regard for science is a “breakthrough”. And was
it not the Bali “roadmap” that provided the
“vital first step” over two years ago?
The Bali “roadmap” agreed by the
Conference of the Parties started the journey to Behind the smoke and mirrors of Copenhagen, the UK and Europe still have a convincing case to make for
Copenhagen. It included a commitment to com-
being the global leaders in tackling climate change
plete by 2009 negotiations on a new internation-
al climate change agreement that would replace charge pollutants to our rivers and seas, the legally binding global agreement. In which case
the Kyoto Protocol when it expires 2012. market does not bear the true cost of the dam- we need to take the next steps quickly.
So what are the consequences of failure in age caused. The economic value of the eco-sys- Moreover they’ll need to be more like giant
Copenhagen? We can consider its implications tems on which our economy depends is far strides if we are ever going to create a truly low-
for future international negotiations, particu- greater than the cost of protecting it. By valuing carbon global economy.
larly when five countries can seemingly draft our environment at zero the market has effec- Behind the smoke and mirrors of
their own agreement behind closed doors, only tively allowed the exploitation of the environ- Copenhagen, however, the UK and Europe still
to thrust it on the other 188 countries who have ment to such an extent that our future econom- have a convincing case to make for being the
a choice of rejecting it and, therefore, risking ic growth is now at risk. global leaders in tackling climate change.
complete failure – turning the trickle of climate The only way to correct a market failure is to The UK has moved faster than any other
change funding into a drought – or to “take adopt policies that ensure environmental dam- country in establishing a strong policy frame-
note” of the deal at the very last minute. age is translated into immediate price signals. work for tackling climate change. The recogni-
Equally telling is the economic consequences EIC believes that the most appropriate way to tion that environmental protection yields sig-
of failure. Over the past 15 years the do this is through active government interven- nificant economic benefits as well as ecological
Environmental Industries Commission, the tion in the economy. By providing a strong pol- gains has also driven important initiatives such
largest trade organisation in Europe for the icy framework that embraces low-carbon and as the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy. The EU
environmental technologies and services (ETS) sustainable growth and puts an appropriate too has a range of ambitious targets that
sector, has led the call for a shift towards an price on pollution, the Government can harness demonstrate a real commitment to low-carbon
economic model that puts sustainability at the the power of markets to find effective, efficient growth across the bloc.
heart of growth, one that bases economic well- and equitable responses to the environmental We may have only been staring through the
being and competitiveness on protecting the challenges we face. Furthermore, environmen- window as the US and China stripped the draft
environment, not destroying it. Embedding tally friendly goods and services take time and Copenhagen Communiqué of any meaningful
low carbon, sustainability and resource effi- money to research, develop and invest in. commitments, however by putting in place this
ciency into the fabric of the economy is vital. Businesses will only put in that time and money domestic framework before anybody else we
Not only to safeguard the future of our planet if they are confident that there will be a place will gain an early mover advantage in developing
but to secure international competitiveness in for these products in the market. If govern- the technologies that will guide the transition to
the global low-carbon economy of the future. ments are to provide this confidence, they need a low-carbon, resource efficient economy.
This is not only the defining challenge of the to put in place a long-term, ambitious environ- When the rest of the world wakes up to the
coming decade, but the defining business mental policy framework across the economy. fact that you cannot tackle climate change by
opportunity. Those industries that develop the With all of this in mind, consider the message simply “recognising” science from a backroom
innovative green technologies that will guide that the events in Copenhagen send out to the in a Copenhagen conference centre, the UK
the transition to a low-carbon, resource-effi- rest of the world: to the businesses that need to and EU will have established a strong low-car-
cient economy will soon be in a position to lead invest in future climate change technologies, bon goods and services sector that it can export
the environmental marketplace worth over $3T the inventors and manufacturers that need to right across the world.
and growing rapidly at 5% a year. produce them and the consumers that need to
Climate change is the product of the greatest purchase them. That achieving a truly global, Danny Stevens is policy director at the
and widest-ranging market failure ever seen. binding climate change agreement is too diffi- Environmental Industries Commission. Don’t
When we emit greenhouse gases, or our vehi- cult to achieve? The best-case scenario is that miss this month’s free supplement analysing
cles emit air pollutants, or our factories dis- Copenhagen is the “vital first step” towards a and assessing the outcomes of Copenhagen
22 February 2010 ❘ Sustainable Business
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