Green
Development News – Committing To Greener Technologies
The past year has marked some significant steps for the green movement toward
combating climate change with public awareness.
In the US alone, the green message has made its way into the public arena garnering
significant attention in corporate boardrooms, U.S. Congress and the entertainment
industry. In fact some networks even have dedicated blocks
of programming to use the power of celebrity to bring this crucial message
to the mainstream.
Approximately 17 states have begun bold initiatives to reduce the heat-trapping
effects of greenhouse gases. Further, over 600 cities have cooperated with the
U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement to reduce carbon emissions as outlined
by the Kyoto Protocol. The change is not just being seen politically but financially
as business people are beginning to see the sound investment potential that going
green provides. In fact, a record amount of venture capital is now streaming
into clean or sustainable energy projects. The call to action is being answered
by many, including institutional investors worth $4 trillion in assets and many
major corporations.
Worldwide, opinion leaders continue to land on the side of the climate change
and clean energy movement. Voluntary markets for carbon offsets are propagating
globally as the European Union gets ready to begin Phase II of its emissions
trading system. China too has entered the fray shifting its fuel economy goals:
by 2020 China hopes to convert 15% its energy production to renewable sources.
However, these are only small steps toward battling a challenge that still remains
imminently powerful. While the green movement is making progress, they still
have a long way to go, especially in the face of the newest findings on climate
science released by the International Panel on Climate Change. The utilization
of fossil fuels is still increasing globally, and hundreds of coal plants are
still on the agendas of China, the U.S., as well as other regions around the
globe. With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, no one has been specific on
how the world can work together to develop greener strategies, and still the
tropical rainforests are being felled at an alarming rate.
To address the persistent concerns of the future, however, the Clinton Global
Initiative had a meeting this fall to “focus
on the concrete ways in which political, corporate and civic leaders can work
together” to make sure all the good work done in the previous year
continues to resonate in the minds and more importantly the plans of countries
and developers around the world.
An important collaboration that can potentially use the power of many to make
significant changes in how we all consumer energy, the meeting addressed several
concerns from protecting the tropical rain forests to expanding clean energy
around the world.
Take a look at some of the web-casts available from this landmark summit and
look back here as we continue to provide new information on climate change as
well as the green development movement.
