Technology is king

Hope never dies. New modelling shows that a better than even chance of avoiding 2 degree warming is still possible BUT only if agreement is reached and implemented within the next twelve months. Researchers from Victoria University have warned that if the world acts now, it may be possible to have global emissions peaking at about 2060 and temperatures beginning to decline by century’s end.

This can be achieved by advanced economies reducing their emissions by 80 per cent between now and 2050, with the developing countries coming on board between 2015 and 2030. Achieving this result will mean the elimination of all greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries within 50 years and from developing countries in a slightly longer timeframe.

What this will do is generate a new industrial revolution with huge investment in new technologies, industries and communities.

In a related event, India hosted a high-level technology summit in Delhi, supporting progress toward a global agreement on "climate-friendly" technologies. Technology innovation centers across the globe that allow globally available technologies to be adapted to local conditions and situations were mooted. Also proposed was the creation of a "hub and core" of expertise and best practice that could become a global resource for policymakers and implementers to exchange information and experience.

Cooperative clean energy relationships saw a start at the meeting. These included a technology cooperation agreement between India and Norway, a memorandum of understanding on smart-grid collaboration between British and Indian industry, and an announcement by Philip Hunt, Minister of State for the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change, that his country intends to establish three centers of innovation worldwide, including one in India.

On the question of new technology and IPR, India feels that climate-friendly and environmentally sound technologies should be viewed as global public goods, and hence IPR should balance rewards for innovators with the need for the common good of mankind. To this end, India restated its proposal for the establishment of a global fund to purchase such IPRs and distribute them as global goods where they are needed.

And if glaciers and hurricanes seem a distant threat, and if you want to know how climate change will affect your part of the world simply click on a link and see. The UK government has set up a climate change impact map.

Finally it is all about being aware of the problem and doing something about it instead of waiting for apocalypse to happen! If US consumers used existing technology to its fullest, a whole France-worth of carbon emissions can be saved, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. To change behaviour, incentives and rebates could be used but unless these are substantial, change will take a long time.

And while on climate change, a word on the ethics. Amartya Sen has a moot point to make when he warns the fast developing nations against the same mistakes the west made. India and China should now make sure that non-polluting countries in Africa are dealt with the same standards of fairness and justice that they seek from the western world in any environment related settlement, he told a conference on "Trade, Urbanization and the Environment" organized by the Peking University and the Veolia Environment Institute. It would be a mistake to divide the world into old polluters and new polluters. If that was so, non-polluting in Africa will blame India and China one day for not doing enough to protect the environment when they could do so.

Clearly, some believe in technology and others in behavioural changes. What is your take?