GreenSage E-zine 02/2008

The Economics of Green Will Prevail into the Future

According to the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the world is on the cusp of "the age of green economics" and called on nations to cooperate to fight global warming and promote the transformation.

"With the right financial incentives and a global framework, we can steer economic growth in a low-carbon direction," Ban said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Chicago business group this month.

Ban, who has made the environment a centerpiece of his year-long leadership of the U.N., urged the United States and other countries to partner with the "world's only truly global institution" to combat such scourges as climate change, terrorism and infectious diseases.

"No nation, alone, can deal with such problems," Ban said. "Operating effectively in today's world requires partnership. It requires co-operation, engagement and dialogue — as well as global rules."

Three-quarters of Americans in surveys believe the United Nations should play a larger role in the world, he said, and a similar proportion say U.S. foreign policy should be coordinated with the international body.

The United States is the biggest single funder of the United Nations though the body has been an object of frequent criticism, particularly from Republicans, for how it is run and for the perception that it impedes U.S. goals.

Ban said global investment in green energy is projected to hit $1.9 trillion by 2020, an indication of an economic shift that will rival the industrial revolution and the technology revolution of the past two centuries.

"We're now on the threshold of another transformation — the age of green economics," Ban said. "Businesspeople in so many parts of the world are demanding clear and consistent policies on climate change — global policies for a global problem."

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy will not only help to combat climate change, but also promises to bring huge returns for investors.

“You are here today because you recognize climate change as an opportunity as well as a threat,” Mr. Ban told the large gathering at UN Headquarters in New York which brought together 450 participants, who together control $10-15 trillion in investment capital. “You understand that the shift to a low-carbon economy opens new revenue streams and creates new markets.”

He urged the investors to lead efforts to finance the technological innovation necessary for a shift to a green economy.

“The carbon market makes good business sense – it has doubled in size to $60 billion in the past year alone – and it makes good moral sense,” the Secretary-General, who has made climate change one of his top priorities since taking office last January, said at a dinner held last night.

The Investor Summit on Climate Risk, which was organized by the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP), the UN Foundation (UN Foundation) and Ceres, a network of investors and public interest groups that promotes green issues, aimed to provide a high-level forum for investment leaders to discuss the scale and urgency of climate change risks.