11/08/2009
Has Economics burst the Ecological Bubble?
In July this year leaders of the G8 group of major industrialised countries met in l’Aquila Italy to discuss climate change as one of the many topics in their agenda. It seems fitting that they met at the scene of a devastating earthquake!
An initial proposal was put forward at the summit for an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; sadly this proposal was discarded within hours of its submission. Russia claimed that the target was impossible to meet and Canada said that the goal was “aspirational”.
The summit later agreed to aim for halving greenhouse emissions by 2050, the final resolution was however sketchy and lacking in detail.
This later figure falls well short of the target set by the European Union in March 2007, which called for a 20% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020.
The question of how the climate targets were to be financed was also left unanswered, decisions on this would be discussed at the G20 summit being held later this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was said to have commented that a “unique opportunity” for progress had been missed by the G8 resolution on climate change.
In view of the above we must ask ourselves the question what effect is the current economical climate having on our attempts to arrive at a binding decision on the limitation of greenhouse gases. It is fair to say that the track record to date has been dismal. With the latest summit setting a new overall low in universally avoiding accountability for our performance or indeed lack of it in this area.
The only manufacturing plant in the UK of wind turbines announced in July this year that it was planning to shut down its plant as the turbine market in the UK was “not big enough”. Are all these events just coincidences or are they indications that the Eco bubble is about to burst?
Could it be that as the recession beds in, we will revert to form by following the easiest route to market, by going in search of the most cost effective products as opposed to seeking out the most ecologically friendly manufactured ones.
I hope not, companies should continue to work on putting together a genuine environmental policy at the heart of their organisations, in order to help restore a sustainable planet. To continue to maintain sustainability we need to only use those resources of nature that can be replenished naturally. It can be done and we must ensure that we do it. It is worth remembering that one ton of emissions equals one death, so, therefore, it is important that we do not give up at the first hurdle.
With ‘Remarkable’ recognised as a leading UK Eco company, I have set out to boost our existing environmental commitments with a policy to achieve iso 9001 and iso14001 and to further our sustainable ‘wind turbine’ energy supply by building a carbon neutral business. The combination of our current policy together with the nature of our business underlines our commitment as a company to aid in the maintenance and restoration of a sustainable planet!
Back to News Archive