Green market in full swing, climate regulation closer to tipping point
This was the key takeout of day one of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training in Brisbane, 5 June 2019, World Environment Day.
Attending the three-day training programme are 780 participants, including 40 New Zealanders and a strong contingent from Australia and Asia-Pacific, all from a range of sectors and disciplines.
Day one included a powerful two-hour, 568-slide presentation delivered by former US Vice President Al Gore, tracking the progress on climate change since An Inconvenient Truth (2006). It showed that while the social, environmental and economic costs of climate change have escalated, investment in the solutions has exceeded expectations.
For example, it was projected that worldwide wind capacity would reach 30 gigawatts by 2010, but by 2008 it had already exceeded this by a factor of 20 times and is now in excess of 600,000 megawatts. In 2002 solar energy capacity was projected to grow one gigawatt per year by 2010, but by that time the goal was exceeded by 17 times. Wind and solar power are now the cheapest new sources of power in large portions of the US, Mexico, Australia, Latin America and India.
Investment in new generating capacity is steering away from fossil fuels towards renewables. In 2009, global investment in fossil fuels was $160bn, compared with $150bn in renewables. In 2017, fossil fuel investment dropped to $100bn, while investment in renewables increased to $270bn.
Global electric vehicle stocks have increased by five million in the last eight years and by 2023, mainstream battery electric cars are forecast to achieve cost parity with efficient fossil fuel cars. 49 of the world’s largest car manufacturers all have electric vehicles in production and by 2025, half of the world’s buses will be electric.
Several countries have committed to phasing out fossil fuel vehicles altogether, with Norway leading the way commencing phase out from 2025; Netherlands, Ireland, Israel, Slovenia, India aiming for 2030; and Scotland, France, Britain, Sri Lanka, Sweden all between 2032-2045.
Al Gore moderated an engaging panel session with the Honourable Dr Steven Miles (MP, Queensland Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services), Anna Skarbek (CEO ClimateWorks Australia), Fred Gela (Mayor Torres Straight), and Dr Amanda Katili Niode (Climate Realty Project Indonesia).
One of the key take outs was the acknowledgement that climate change remains politicised in many countries, despite every nation in the world committing to work together under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Part of the challenge is in agreeing the pace and urgency of change, alongside an equitable and just transition. However, while policies at a national level may be lagging, regional/state level commitments are more progressive.
There has also been a notable gear shift in civil society awareness and appetite to address climate change in the last decade. This is reflected in protest movements, more conscious consumers and growing fiscal responsibility for climate change in Boards and Director roles. Climate change has moved beyond a grass roots movement to a key risk embedded in the strategies of many big businesses.
This is certainly the case in New Zealand, where many businesses, of all sizes, are coming together to collaborate on the solutions to climate change. Examples include The Climate Leaders Coalition, Circular Economy Accelerator and Aotearoa Circle as well as climate change workstreams run by the Sustainable Business Council and Sustainable Business Network.
Day one of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training concluded with a sense that there is a lot to be optimistic about in a more rapid transition to a low carbon future, despite the gloomy outlook forecast in the special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued last year.
The 2019 Brisbane Climate Leadership Corps is the 41st training programme run by the Climate Reality Project and the 2019 cohort will join a global community of nearly 20,000 others who have participated in the programme.To find out more about the Climate Leadership Corps Training Programme, visit: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/training