Political Discussions
G20 for a Green Economy?
Posted by timethief • 11/13/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: climate change, Economy, employment, environment, greehouse gas, green economy, international trade, usa
G20 for a Green Economy?
When leaders of the 20 largest economies gather in Washington later this week, a centerpiece of their deliberations should be a Global Green Deal, write Worldwatch researchers Gary Gardner and Michael Renner. The challenge for political leadership is not merely to kickstart the global economy, but to do so in a way that creates jobs, stabilizes the climate, increases food output using less water and chemicals, and generates prosperity while achieving greater income equality. www.worldwatch.org/node/5935?emc=el&m=168333&l=4&v=4d0ecae8ee
Europeans Form Renewable Energy Agency
Renewables will now have an international cheerleader in the form of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a new venture forged by a consortium of European governments. While a variety of international organizations have focused on the clean energy transition, no single agency addresses the local, national, and international needs of all nations. "There exist international agencies for fossil and nuclear energies, but none for renewables. IRENA will close this gap," according to Hermann Scheer, a member of the German parliament who has advocated such an institution since 1990. www.worldwatch.org/node/5930?emc=el&m=168333&l=8&v=4d0ecae8ee
Environmentalists Weigh In: What Does Obama's Election Mean for the Climate?
With Democratic control of the U.S. White House and Congress, likely new policies include a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, a federal renewable energy portfolio standard, higher fuel-efficiency standards, national energy-efficient building codes, and a long-term extension of renewable energy tax credits. But appointing a strong environmentalist to lead the EPA may be less significant than whom Obama chooses to lead the Treasury Department or Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, according to David Hales, a former Clinton-administration official and Worldwatch Senior Fellow.
www.worldwatch.org/node/5933?emc=el&m=168333&l=7&v=4d0ecae8ee
Calls for boosting the U.S. clean-energy industry have long been met with sticker shock. But now the estimated cost of the transition -- hundreds of billions of dollars -- is being touted as a way to create millions of "green jobs."
President-elect Barack Obama said on the campaign trail that spending $150 billion over the next decade to boost energy efficiency would help create 5 million jobs in fields ranging from wind-turbine builders to insulation installers who make houses more energy-efficient.
The numbers are debated by experts and among Obama's advisers, and are likely to spark debate when Congress considers a stimulus package including green jobs. But a big government push focused on jobs in clean energy industries could be the best chance in years for renewable energy
and energy efficiency to take root in the United States. www.enn.com/business/article/38610
Building a Green Economy
A Global Green Deal would have several strategic objectives:
* Transition to a renewable energy economy.
Make renewable energy sources the dominant feature of the world's energy system, and systematically phase out reliance on fossil fuels. Wind and solar technologies are not just more environmentally benign than oil, coal, and nuclear power, but also more jobs-intensive. Alternative forms of energy already provide employment to more than 2 million people worldwide, and continued rapid growth will likely multiply these numbers in coming years.
* Launch anefficiency revolution.
Doing more with less is one of the surest paths to wealth creation, and environmentalists have a great many ideas to raise energy and materials efficiency. Indeed, some European analysts have asserted that a tenfold increase in resource productivity is possible. Transport, housing, industry, and utilities are ripe with opportunities for huge efficiency gains. A "dematerialization" of economic activity requires far less mining and logging, and thus permits a sharp reduction in their environmental impacts.
* Invest in green infrastructure.
Revolutionizing the electrical grid, creating transportation systems that are less reliant on automobiles and embrace rail and mass transit, and encouraging settlement structures that are compact, not sprawling, will stimulate economic activity, create millions of jobs, and free us of unnecessarily high levels of energy and materials use.
* Make materials circulate.
Analyst Walter Stahel of the Product Life Institute has pointed out that the front end of an economy-extractive activities such as mining, logging, oil drilling, and fishing-tends to use less labor and create more pollution than manufacturing and maintenance activities. A circular economy emphasizes durability, repairability, recycling, and remanufacturing, squeezing more value out of the resource base and generating greater employment. Companies will thrive on helping their customers derive the most functionality and service out of a product, rather than merely seeking to maximize sales.
* Work for a fairer distribution of wealth within and across borders.
According to the International Labour Organization, two-thirds of countries for which data are available underwent an increase in income inequality in 1990-2005 between the top 10 and bottom 10 percent of wage earners. Management - worker pay disparities rose to new heights. CEOs at the S&P 500 leading U.S. firms averaged $10.5 million in 2007, 344 times the pay of the average American worker. (And the top 50 U.S. hedge- and private-equity fund managers averaged $588 million each, some 19,000 times as much as the average U.S. worker.) Just three decades ago, CEO pay averaged only 30 to 40 times the pay of the average worker.
www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38639
Discussion question: What are your thoughts on the creation of a green economy?
User Comments
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I agree that we need an environmentally friendlier economy. To create a more environmentally safe economy, it will take a lot of time and patience. It is not something that will happen anytime soon, but at least 50 years away to fully convert an economy the size of the United States to be more eco-friendly. It will probably be a slow and painstaking process, but a necessary one. If certain "green" policies are pushed through by congress too quickly it could have a devastating effect on the global market (as if there is not enough of one already). And I disagree with the nuclear energy point, it is quite safe and environmentally friendly. Wind and solar energies are nice but they are too dependent on the region. Solar could not work well in the Pacific North West for example because it simply is not sunny enough. Also wind and solar do not generate the same amount of power that a nuclear plant can. On the whole though this is something that the government should have started 25 years ago and now we have to play catch up. We do need to begin creating a more environmentally friendly economy. One other point I would like to add is that China and India need to be environmentally reigned in as well.-
It is not something that will happen anytime soon, but at least 50 years away to fully convert an economy the size of the United States to be more eco-friendly.
Two problems here; 1) not true, 2) not an option.
We were retooled and ready to fight WWII in moments, historically speaking. It's not like we've never totally refocused national priorities overnight before. There's absolutely no reason to go about this thing any way other than full steam ahead -- the environment requires it, the economy requires it, and common sense requires it.
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As Tom Friedman's recent New York Times column so aptly put it: "It's time to stop borrowing and start building. America's No. 1 resource is not oil or mortgages. Our No. 1 resource is our people. Let's put people back to work - retrofitting and repowering America.... You can't base a national economy on credit cards. But you can base it on solar panels, wind turbines, smart biofuels and a massive program to weatherize every building and home in America." www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Innovation in areas such as renewable energy, green building, and sustainable agriculture can invigorate the global economy by helping businesses stay at the cutting edge, which is essential for retaining existing jobs and creating new ones. -
Has anyone checked out the Venus project?
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Pune (India)
The cement industry is the one of the largest producers of green house gas. At present there is no substitute for cement in construction. The only way to reduce the green house gas (CO2) generation is to reduce the production of Portland cement. That can be effectively done, partially substituting cement by the mineral admixtures. The mineral admixtures are mainly industrial and agricultural wastes. The commonly used admixtures are fly ash and blast furnace slag. The rice husk ash is a relatively new entrant. All national standards allow the use of mineral admixtures as partial substitute for cement. The substitution improves the strength and the durability of concrete. Efforts should be made to maximise the substitution for the given application. Dr J D Bapat: www.cement-concrete.com-
I didn't know that...
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The Green economy is key to both recovery and a sustainable future. I am a champion of sustainable business and I share many of the G20 protesters vision of a Greener earth. However, I am concerned that protesters at the G20 did not communicate a clear and constructive message. As I see it, G20 protesters effectively diluted the Green message. I invite you to review the article and share your thoughts. thegreenmarket.blogspot.com/2009/04/g20-protestors-dilute-green-message.htm...
As stated by Gordon Brown, there appears to be a new world order emerging. By regulating financial markets and allocating aid, world leaders at the G20 summit in London layed the foundation for recovery and a new political and economic system. Despite the suffering that it augers, the global economic crisis is driving this greater international cooperation. I invite you to share your thoughts
thegreenmarket.blogspot.com/2009/04/g20-lays-foundation-for-better-world.ht... -
I hope that such an approach would include consumer education, in order to conserve productive energy for those most essential functions -
Why Are Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner Working Against the Interests of America? Either certain Republicans are unreasonable, playing politics with energy and security, or they don’t care about what’s good for the American people.
Read more --> www.desmogblog.com/why-are-mitch-mcconnell-and-john-boehner-working-against...
Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell's Big Green Lie
Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are spreading outright lies in an attempt to oppose a new cap-and-trade plan being considered by Congress.
Read more --> www.desmogblog.com/rep-john-boehner-and-sen-mitch-mcconnells-big-green-lie
Ad features 100 scientists willing to stoke the climate crisis - Who on earth might have, say, half a million dollars to drop on an advertising campaign aimed at getting Americans to doubt the well-established science of climate change?
Read more --> www.desmogblog.com/ad-features-100-scientists-willing-stoke-climate-crisis
Oil Giant in a showdown with Local "Big Loop Group" Ranchers in Alberta - Looks like Petro Canada and Suncor are in for a Wild West Showdown with a group of angry landowners in Alberta.
Read more --> www.desmogblog.com/petro-canada-natural-gas-pipeline-alberta
David Bellamy Gets It Completely Wrong on Climate Change Science - There’s another strong contender for the Christopher Booker Prize for Bullshit Reportage of Climate Science.
Read more --> www.desmogblog.com/david-bellamy-wrong-climate-change-science -
oops! wrong thread
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