More than 150 companies worldwide, representing some $4 trillion in market valuation, have signed the Bali Communiqué:
As business leaders, it is our belief that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change outweigh the costs of not acting:
• The economic and geopolitical costs of unabated climate change could be very severe and globally disruptive. All countries and economies will be affected, but it will be the poorest countries that will suffer earliest and the most
• The costs of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change are manageable, especially if guided by a common international vision
• Each year we delay action to control global emissions increases the risk of unavoidable consequences that will likely necessitate even steeper reductions in the future, causing potentially greater economic, environmental and social disruption
• The shift to a low-carbon economy will create significant business opportunities. New markets for low carbon technologies and products, worth billions of dollars, will be created if the world acts on the scale required
In summary, we believe that tackling climate change is the pro-growth strategy. Ignoring it will ultimately undermine economic growth.
Here's what they want.
• a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change
• emission reduction targets to be guided primarily by science
• those countries that have already industrialised to make the greatest effort
• world leaders to seize the window of opportunity and agree a work plan of negotiations to ensure an agreement can come into force post 2012 (when the existing Kyoto Protocol expires)
Can somebody forward this story to the U.S. Congress?
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Comments View as Flat
Pangolin Posted 4:20 pm
29 Nov 2007
Just 150?
Because last time I checked most companies do a whole lot better selling stuff to people if said people aren't being chased from their homes by hurricanes, tornados, cyclones, wildfires and mega-droughts.
Just saying.
Like say, for instance the Coca Cola company in Atlanta just really, really, really, doesn't want people looking at them real hard if the southeast drought ends up shutting down their production. Some wiseacre will point out Coca-Cola's sales of bottled water as perfect examples of futile sales of products that are overall detrimental to the climate.
Ditto just about every fortune 500 company with the exception of Google.
So give us another year of global mega-weather and that 150 should hopefully look something like 150 thousand.
Let's check back on this next year shall we?
Put the Carbon Back
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Tasermons Partner Posted 4:27 pm
29 Nov 2007
Good start....
It's a good start, but one wonders just how many of the 150 companies are already eco-freindly and have reduced their GHG emissions enough to comply.
If it's mostly companies like Whole Foods Markets, Seventh Generation, Green Mountain Energy, etc., then we're not really makin' much additional progress.
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mleonard Posted 4:28 pm
29 Nov 2007
Mostly non-US companies. Surprised?
Just glancing over the list of signatories - and overwhelmingly, they are NOT US-based companies. Without doing research into where companies are actually headquartered - I casually counted about 10 (of 150) that I recognized as US-based.
-Matt
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Tasermons Partner Posted 4:37 pm
29 Nov 2007
A few...
There do appear to be few on the list who can make a big diiference (if they actually stuck with it). Ebay, Shell Oil, British Airways (don't they fly empty planes?), and a few others.
But there are also a few companies that are already devoted to health and environmental protection.
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amazingdrx Posted 12:10 am
30 Nov 2007
Green is good for growth
This is a very good sign. I see Bill C going all around the world in the near future as booster for this POV.
Lower energy costs would be the quickest growth factor to reverse the recessionary trend. Right now inflation due to oil and other fossil energy and heavy US borrowing to fund oil war has the US and world economy headed for disaster.
And good jobs and a revival of the US manufacturing and tax base would be the medium term growth booster lasting for decades as the renewable energy boom rolls out.
The curtailing of GHG climate effects, storm, drought, ice melting, and so forth would be the financial insurance backing up human quality of life and standard of living long term. Handing off a planet back in balance to future generations.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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WWAGD?! Posted 2:11 am
30 Nov 2007
Coming To Theatres in 2008!
Kyoto Accord
Bali Communique
This series rivals Bourne...
My Log
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Waxwing Posted 3:45 am
01 Dec 2007
Didn't get the environment vs. economy memo
Unfortunately, green has become a marketing tool, advertise but do business as normal, if it wasn't, plastic bags would be outlawed but only a few countries in the third world (?) and a few cities have banned this scourge in modern life. The auto companies still push SUV's and exclude the compacts and sub-compacts.
Jerry
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