FOUR WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

BLOGPOST, Thu 16 September 2010 10:34, Tony Blair

We don't need more slogans or calls to do the impossible. We need to take what is possible, do it and build on it. In that way we multiply our own efforts and accelerate our progress to a low carbon future and green economy. I would briefly list four principles that should govern our attempts to make a difference at a global level.

First, the emphasis must be on sustainable growth. We cannot expect countries like China and India, still with many millions living in poverty, to slow the pace of their development. They need to develop. We must search for ways of doing it sustainably. Likewise, to be frank, people of developed nations are not going to give up the benefits of higher living standards, travel and mobility that characterise today's world.

Which brings me to my second point. The key is science and technology. It is the innovation that they bring – from electric vehicles to cleaner ways of power generation through to LED lighting – that will square the circle of the desire for increased consumption and the need for a green economy. The purpose of a global agreement and of national action plans is to create the incentives for the private sector to invent, commercialise and market the new ways of green living. Already in the last 10 years we have come a long way. The next 10 will likely revolutionise our knowledge of the technological potential. Government can help in basic research and seed funding; but the private sector will lead the way.

Third, in line with this activity by the private sector, we should find ways of co-operation so as to maximize the spread and speed of technological advance. There are huge opportunities in everything from nuclear power, to carbon capture and storage; but we will hasten the pace of action if technology is shared and the possibilities of collaboration properly expanded. In this respect, Copenhagen did make significant progress.

Finally, and in the same spirit, there are many already established ways we can limit climate change. These are the low hanging fruit of the environmental action; like energy efficiency that can account for 25% of the change needed.

The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is a beautiful example of the private sector leading the way to a low carbon future and green economy, by challenging entrepreneurs to invent the new ways of green living. That is the practical road to the future and we should take it.

Tony Blair

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and founder of the Breaking the Climate Deadlock initiative which aims to provide policy solutions for a low carbon future