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Sustainability will not be sidelined

By Paul Gilding - posted Thursday, 26 March 2009


This was a review of ecosystem services - those parts of the ecosystem that directly support our society and economy.

Their conclusions were chilling: “At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning. Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”

Think about those words. This is no longer the environment “over there”; this is the environment over here, the one we live in; the one that supports our economy, the one on whose resources we depend for survival.

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So our ability to “sustain future generations” is now at risk. Climate change tips this risk into an almost inevitable crisis unless we act with extraordinary urgency.

One can easily go into despair at this reality, but there really is no time for that now. The good news is that the new leadership in the US, the crystal clear science and the fracturing economy will see us attack these issues with extraordinary gusto. It will be driven not by good intentions but by resource pricing and consumer demand enforced by strong regulation framing the market context.

The significance of the change we are about to see can barely be overstated; any company that is not preparing for this new world will probably not survive. The current economic context gives greater reason to act, not less, as the model is clearly broken and reinvigorating it without substantial change will commit us to an even larger crisis.

To get a sense of the scale of change we face, and how exciting it could be, take a look at climate change. Even if we go with a low global reduction target of just 60 per cent by 2050, that means a per capita reduction of closer to 95 per cent in Australia, given population growth and our high starting point.

So we can’t get there by emitting substantially less carbon or by doing things more efficiently like coal to gas technology; we’re going to have to pretty much eliminate the economy’s net emissions.

That means, for example, a complete transformation of the electricity supply industry, the retrofitting of every building, the replacement of the transport fleet and an end to waste through a system of deposits and take back regulations. The same applies to the world’s largest economy, the US. Talk about a massive business opportunity!

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The new role of regulation

But that is just the industrial side of the revolution. The political and cultural change will also be dramatic. For example, prepare for a much stronger role for government. Thanks to the investment bank cowboys, the elites and the public have come to accept a much firmer hand on the market’s controls by the people.

We have also realised that when we decide to act, we can act with power and purpose, as we have seen with the re-nationalisation of much of the banking industry.

Some of the best commentary on the coming change can be found in Obama’s inauguration speech, both because he captures the mood in the citadel of global capitalism and because he is now perhaps the most powerful man in the world.

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First published at Waste Management and Environment Media.



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About the Author

Paul Gilding is an independent adviser and commentator on sustainability and climate change and a Special Advisor to KPMG. Former roles include executive director of Greenpeace International, founder of Ecos Corporation and CEO of Easy Being Green. www.paulgilding.com

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