The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) opened yesterday in Durban, South Africa. It is hoped that the conference will represent forward momentum in both government and business efforts to produce a global policy on controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2011 report, published this week, points out that everyone involved in the talks needs to put actions ahead of words—rhetoric abounds, but action remains scarce. To wit:
Energy-related carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2010 were the highest in history. Energy efficiency is “on the top of the agenda of every government, but when you get the numbers there’s a big décolletage there,” says Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the IEA.
Décolletage? Really? Anyway:
Emerging markets like China and Russia, where energy usage is growing fastest, are less efficient than the U.S. and E.U., it turns out. The IEA...forecasts that coal and natural gas will power more than half of the world’s expanding need for electricity, between now and 2035.
Not everyone—in fact very few—are hopeful that anything substantive will come of the Durban conference, highlighted in a report from Ernst & Young. That’s the spirit! On the plus side, at COP17,  the Carbon War Room will be hosting the second annual Gigaton Awards that “honor businesses for outstanding performance as defined by measurable carbon reductions and quantifiable steps toward sustainability.” Two concurrent events taking place in Durban include The World Climate Summit (December 3-4), and Business for the Environment (B4E) (December 6) which aims to discuss a “clean industrial revolution.” GreenBiz has four reasons why COP17 matters, but, essentially:
It matters because global warming is becoming a more pressing global problem that the world community must work together to address. The U.S. remains a global and industry powerhouse whose actions and example are of critical import. And, it's clear that industry must play a role in providing leadership, technology, and financing innovations.
GreenBiz.com will have comprehensive coverage from Durban. COP17 ends on December 9.