So I watched Friday’s NOW segment about climate change, and I’m fired up again after being somewhat discouraged for the last few years about the political atmosphere surrounding this issue. I’m also convinced that pressure to take action to reduce carbon emissions is ultimately going to have to come from the business community itself, as the reinsurance industry and other risk-averse sectors make their voices (and financial clout) heard. The utility company executive featured on NOW, James Rogers of Cinergy, had been looking at the facts and coming to the conclusion that the sooner action is taken, the better off his business will be. He cited Tony Blair’s pledge to cut Britain’s emissions of carbon dioxide by sixty percent over 50 years as a good example of setting a big policy goal and allowing businesses, which crave certainty, to adjust accordingly. One wonders, however, whether the British will move beyond offering a periodic “frank exchange of views” with the United States over climate change, and really push for action.
