The Green Economy
Date: 14 May 2010International experts discuss the opportunities presented by the Green Economy at leadership event in Dublin
Close to 200 of Ireland’s leaders in business, finance and the State sector gathered in Dublin’s Four Seasons on Friday May 14 to hear leading international sustainability experts discuss the opportunities and risks presented by the new green economy. They were addressing delegates at The Green Economy - a Business & Leadership Briefing. Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources opened the morning’s proceedings.
The population of the Earth is now consuming 1.3 times its available resources, cautioned Will Day, chairman of the UK's Sustainable Development Commission and an advisor to the UK cabinet and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). However, he added, "sustainability is the single biggest business opportunity of the 21st century".
Day presented a self-confessed apocalyptical assessment of where humanity stands in relation to what we've done to our planet. "Is our economy fit for purpose or will it drag us over the side of a cliff? We've not done very well recognising the cost of our activity and we're about to pay the price for that failure," he said.
“So why does this matter to us? Or am I just here to depress you over breakfast?" asked Day. "Well it matters because, if you have a supply chain, if you use transport, you use energy, if you have a reputation, then this affects you. The decisions you take will be shaped by that context.
“I've highlighted risk, but that agenda is filled with opportunities, he concluded. “Seriously, there will be fortunes made by the individuals and the organisations and the investors who call this one right, who do not hang around, who recognise the tension between first mover advantage and being a laggard. There are huge opportunities."
Green ICT
Chris Tuppen, who was recently named 'one of the 50 people who could save the planet from climatic disaster' by a special Guardian newspaper panel, also spoke at the event. Tuppen said that when it came to ICT - responsible for 2pc of worldwide carbon emissions - there are two sides to the coin: "There's the energy being consumed by ICT communications infrastructure and the energy that can be saved through the application of that infrastructure.
"If you look at how we could enable energy reduction and emission savings in other industry sectors through the application of ICT, it is five times the direct footprint of the ICT sector itself - not many sectors have that potential capacity."
A new industrial revolution
“We need a revolution in the green economy in the next 40 years to handle the energy challenge and the climate change crisis we face," said Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, who opened the mornings proceedings.
Minister Ryan warned that the economic growth and subsequent population growth across the world, allied with global warming, present enormous challenges in terms of resources and health. What we do now will determine our future for the next 40 years and beyond, he added.
“To stop the climate collapsing we know we need an 80pc reduction in carbon emissions by 2050," he stressed. "In energy you have to think long term. (The year) 2050 is not that long away in terms of the smart grids we need to build and which will still be used then; the power plants that will be still in use. So it's not actually that distant. To make that change in 2050 you have to start now."
Metrics Matter
Investors and customers will expect businesses large and small to measure their environmental impact, said Dick Budden, Director of the Carbon Disclosure Project (Ireland), the worldwide non-for-profit organisation which encourages private and public sector organisations to measure, report, manage, and reduce carbon emissions and climate change impacts.
"Climate change is a challenge that won't go away and won't wait," he said. "The green economy is here, the risks are too big to ignore. The world's largest investors want you to respond and many of the world's largest businesses are engaged.
"If we haven't appropriately adjusted our response to man-made climate change, then environmental laws will eventually set targets that will challenge every business," Budden warned.
Terence O'Rourke, managing partner, KPMG Ireland, believes Irish businesses are indeed awake to the risks and opportunities. "Despite economic challenges, a wide range of Irish businesses instinctively recognise that sustainability provides valuable opportunities," he said. "The presence at this briefing of so many senior people from across the economy shows the importance that business attaches to the issue."
Ends
View the video highlights - http://www.businessandleadership.com/greeneconomy
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