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Governments must lead climate action

by Members of the Glboal Climate Network
The Guardian - 08 July 2009

The meeting in Italy in July of leaders of the world’s major economies, chaired by President Obama, concluded with a statement of intent to scale-up clean-energy funding for developing countries and called for the establishment of a new ‘global partnership’ to drive transformational low-carbon technologies.

Despite the lack of greater detail, the MEF’s acknowledgment of the importance of clean technology is welcome. Its underlying message chimes with the results of a study recently completed by the Global Climate Network, an international coalition of influential think-tanks in countries key to successful global action.

For too long, technology has been the poor relation of other issues in the critical climate change negotiations. We think a new focus on technology – a technology revolution no less – would tangibly help avert climate crisis and could also transform the debate from one of mutual mistrust into one of shared opportunities.

Many of the technologies we will need to fight climate change are within our grasp. However, if we are to seize this opportunity, a much better understanding of why we have not yet managed to harness the potential of even some of the most rudimentary low-carbon innovations is desperately needed.

Our research involved asking more than 100 leading business people, government officials and academics in eight countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Nigeria, South Africa and the USA) what they thought stood in the way of a grand roll-out of low-carbon technology. In taking into account their responses, we reach three key conclusions, which world leaders building on agreements reached in Italy should take on board.

First, we argue – as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also argued – that a low carbon technology revolution will not simply happen, but requires government’s hand on the tiller. Our research clearly shows that one of the major barriers to low carbon technology is the lack of coherent policy at the domestic level in both industrialised and developing countries.

The conventional wisdom points to the importance of establishing economy wide schemes to price carbon emissions through taxation or trading. This may indeed help low carbon technology over the longer term, especially when innovations are more firmly established.

But right now, more keenly targeted government policies are desperately needed, particularly because many of the barriers are to do with a lack of skills and know-how – including knowledge of how to make good policy – as well as the availability of technology. Such policies might include phasing in carbon standards for specific products or sectors, providing tax incentives to drive investment in low-carbon energy, creating stable investment climates and supporting research, development and deployment.

The need for finance is our second conclusion. Almost all of those whom we interviewed in our study identified the lack of upfront finance and of financial mechanisms to help meet the higher costs of deploying new technology rapidly as being a major barrier to low carbon technology. While, in the longer term, the private sector will be the major source of low carbon finance, government money is needed early-on to make new technologies cheaper and less risky. In this regard, the declaration by MEF countries to double public sector investment into clean technologies by 2015, despite needing to be fast-tracked, should nonetheless be applauded.

We suggest in addition that an international framework for reducing emissions, which is due to be negotiated in Copenhagen in December, should contain a mechanism to reward robust, comprehensive policy-making at the national level with new finance. Developed countries have an obligation under the existing UN climate agreement to be the major contributors to this effort.

Third, we call for an International Technologies Initiative, which could help accelerate the collaborative development of new technology and realise the brightest and best ideas through the difficult demonstration stage and to full commercial production and deployment. The so-called ‘valley of death’ in which many great ideas perish for want of finance cannot be allowed to kill off important low carbon innovations.

Again, many of the experts we consulted in our study highlighted the parlous state of research and development funding. We propose that governments, key academic institutions and companies work together in regional hubs and under the umbrella of an International Technologies Initiative to share the equipment, know-how and skills in an urgent drive to find the climate-saving technologies of the future, especially those that also help bring energy services to poor people.

Some will baulk at the suggestion that government should have such a strong role in driving new, low carbon technology. And yet our study shows that while there are some differences of view among public servants, politicians and people in the private sector, the overwhelming conclusion of most of those whom we interviewed is that governments have to steer the low carbon technology revolution, and do so with more purpose than has hitherto been the case.

Cooperating on technology will not be easy; the bailing out banks and defibrillation of economies has led to large fiscal deficits in some countries, even if some of the money has helped deploy low carbon technology. But the message to world leaders from the Network’s research is clear: put technology at the heart of negotiations; agree an international mechanism that rewards robust low carbon development strategies; pool resources to plough into R+D and demonstration; focus on know how as much as equipment; share knowledge and propagate skills.

Success at Copenhagen in December depends on reaching consensus in each of the five areas currently under negotiation. A clear commitment by governments to support robust, internationally approved, national plans with new finance and build on the MEF’s agreement by actively collaborating on the development of new technology could lay the foundations for the low carbon revolution we need.

The Global Climate Network is an alliance of nine influential think tanks in countries key to successful international action on climate change. Its secretariat is based at the ippr in the UK.

This commentary is an extended and updated version of a letter (‘Governments must lead climate action’) printed in the Guardian on Wednesday 8th July 2009.