Enabling the Transition: Climate Innovation Systems for a Low-Carbon Future

kristyGreen Prosperity

Enabling the Transition: Climate Innovation Systems for a Low-Carbon Future

New report from WWF supports Ethical Markets tracking of the Green Transition.

This 2011 Enabling the Transition – Climate Innovation Systems for a Low Carbon Future report says that fast and scaled up support for innovative approaches to developing a low-carbon economy is possible, calling for inclusive actions of equal speed and scale becaues “the speed, scale and complexity of climate change is having a multiplying effect on other environmental stresses.”

The report assesses nine economies – China, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the European Union, showing a range of common conditions for moving fast towards a low carbon economy, including: strengthening domestic and international technology collaboration, establishing new low carbon markets, stimulating demand, and attracting private capital.

Providing reliable, affordable and clean energy on the scale required will need large initial investment. But the benefits would be much greater in the long term, providing economic and development opportunities and massive cost savings.

“Every country and region has its own unique starting point and ability to create enabling environments for climate entrepreneurship,” said Samantha Smith, leader of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative. “However, they also share a great deal of the challenges and the opportunities gained from strengthening climate innovation systems.”

Increased collaboration and investments must be facilitated and reinforced with carefully designed policies, the report states. These policies should include re-directing the existing $ 200-500 billion global fossil fuel subsidies into sustainable energy solutions, as well as rewarding transformative solutions in public procurement and economic stimulus packages.

“The overwhelming majority of capital required for making the transition to low carbon will come from private sources, and that money will flow where it expects to achieve the highest return on investments. We need to discuss how to attract private capital to climate innovations, including targeted support from public funds” said Magnus Emfel, Manager Climate Innovations at WWF Sweden and editor of the report.

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