Stimulation of demand for renewable energy could spark a new Industrial Revolution, argues British economist Nicholas Stern.
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ABU DHABI: The world’s transition to a low-carbon economy will not only make cities cleaner and more sustainable, it will spark a new Industrial Revolution, said renowned British economist Nicholas Stern.
Speaking at the 3rd World Future Energy Summit in the oil-rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, the former chief economist at the World Bank said many political and business leaders do not understand the magnitude of the risk facing the global economy.
"People are completely missing the point about just how big the risks are," he told delegates. "If we go on with 'business as usual', [greenhouse gas] concentrations will, at the end of this century, will be at the level where we have a roughly 50/50 chance of being 5˚C [warmer].
Before the dawn of humanity
"The planet hasn’t seen [a rise] of 5˚C for 30 million years. It hasn’t seen 3˚C for 3 million years," he said. "People need to understand that we are risking here temperature increases that are way outside the range of human experience and will likely involve the movement of hundreds of millions of people," creating large-scale conflict.
The summit, the world's largest renewable energy conference with more than 9,000 attendees, brings together 80 ministers, royalty and heads of state with corporate leaders and scientists from 120 nations.
Early winners
Stern said it was up to companies who have taken an early lead in the low-carbon transition – and who are profiting from it – to accentuate that reducing emissions was an opportunity as well as a challenge.
"This is a new Industrial Revolution which will probably be more exciting than the steam engine, the railways, electricity, the motor car or information technology," he continued.
It’s not just about incurring costs to reduce the catastrophic risks, “but it’s something much more profound than that. The transition to a low-carbon economy … could be, and arguably will be, the most dynamic in economic history.”
Innovation is costly
Shi Zhengrong, founder and chief executive of the China-based Suntech, the world’s leading manufacturer of photovoltaic cells, said government leadership was key. He praised the example of Germany in the past decade, which led to a dramatic increase in the renewable demand.
The country introduced feed-in tariffs that paid consumers for excess energy fed back into the grid from their own solar, wind and other renewable sources, leading to a boom in investment. The sector now employs 170,000 people and has a turnover of A$13.5 billion (US$12.3 billion).
More than 10 per cent of electricity in Germany comes from renewable sources, and it’s estimated this has saved 52 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
