Investers urge swift action on climate change
22/1/2010 Guardian Weekly More than 450 investors controlling $13 trillion of assets last week urged world governments…. to pre-empt an international climate change treaty and take immediate action on global warming,
or risk losing the opportunity to establish a clean and sustainable low-carbon economy.
At a conference at the UN in New York, the first gathering of business leaders since the Copenhagen
climate summit said governments had to adopt policies that gave a clear direction towards a clean energy economy.
Copenhagen made only “incremental” progress, the investors said, and governments needed to act now to reset domestic
agendas, with policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions and lay foundations for a carbon market.
Peter Dunsombe, chairman of the IIGCC, a network of European investors, said: “Leaders from both
developed and developing countries need to act now to compensate for the lack of progress.
” The group of 450 investors from Europe, America and Australia said: “Investors remain committed to taking action.
But for us to deploy capital at the scale needed to truly catalyse a low-carbon economy, policy makers
must act swiftly.” The investors called for speedy development of green building practices, cleaner cars and public transit systems.
The Obama administration’s top climate change envoy, Todd Stern, told the conference,
organised by the Ceres green investment network, that this year was crucial for working
towards a climate change treaty. America and other countries would be working hard to flesh out a
12-paragraph accord brokered by Barack Obama and the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa,
especially on sharing clean energy technology and mobilising a global fund to help poor countries adapt to climate change.
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