September 20th, 2009
U.S. still thumbing its nose at global warming agreements
Japan’s new prime minister is leaning toward putting greenhouse gas emission limits on his nation. This week he will tell the U.N. he wants a 25% reduction in emissions by 2020. The out-going Japanese regime had been less interested in taking action.
There’s no such move likely from the U.S. And that inaction almost insures there’ll be no effective pressure on India or China to curtail their emissions either.
European nations are eager to see more direct action on global warming, even pushing for madatory international emission limits. One British leader pointed out the “ambition gap” between Europe and the U.S.
A great stumbling block for American political leaders: there seem little chance there’ll be any action on energy and global warming in the U.S. Senate before the Copenhagen climate summit in December. A conference this week at the U.N. will produce only talk.
STANDARD BOILER PLATE
This verbiage will now be attached to any blog I do about global warming. It’s amazing to me that somebody who can apparently read and then post comments still wonders in public why global warming matters on a technology web site. But I am naive, always assuming everybody’s paying attention.
It’s because of money. If global warming has enough acceptance among corporations, the public and even pols, there will be more money spent on green tech, wisely or unwisely. If oil prices stay low and most people don’t care a fig about global warming, green tech will have a difficult time succeeding, regardless of its merits. Not every good idea succeeds. VCs usually invest where they think there’s best chance for a good return. In greentech as in any tech the winners will often be determined by luck, brilliance, timing, happenstance and even marketing. Behind it all will be the money and behind that: whether the evidence for global warming and curtailing pollution drive action or is written off as claptrap.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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