We now need war time effort at war time speed

During World War II, posters were advocating a series of efforts to civilian populations to conserve energy. Similarly cars industries were producing tanks. What was done in the US in the 1940s now has to be done on a global scale.

Avoiding catastrophic climate change now needs war time effort at war time speed. Governments, albeit very slow on action, are beginning to understand this and pledges for action are accumulating ahead of Copenhagen.

A report by the WWF and Climate Risk shows how doing such a thing would benefit our environment and our economies as $7 trillion investment in renewables would bring a $42 trillion payoff.

As TreeHugger noted :

We’ve got about five years to build a global low-carbon economy before holding global temperatures below the critical 2°C threshold becomes nigh impossible. That’s the word from WWF, in Climate Solutions 2. But the good news is that we still can make the transition, and the money it will bring in will far outweigh that going out:

Past 2014, More and More Direct Market Intervention Required to Control Temps
The report warns that if we don’t ramp up the transition to a low-carbon economy based on clean energy and more efficient industrial activity, beyond 2014 it will be “impossible for market economies to meet the low carbon targets to keep global warming below 2°C… and that delays will increase the levels of direct intervention needed in the economy.”

Climate Solutions 2 recommends simultaneous action to cut emissions in all economic sectors, combined with a full range of public policy supporting that, including energy efficiency standards, feed-in tariffs for renewable energy and an end to perverse subsidies for fossil fuels.

$7 Trillion Investment in Renewables = $42 Trillion Payoff
That’s the tough green love part; here’s the payoff: In terms of investment needed, the report estimates $17 trillion extra worldwide by 2050 — $7 trillion of that in renewable energy, which is estimated to generate returns for investors of about $42 trillion.

Related posts:

1. Investors demand strong climate change action
2. Fighting climate change makes financial sense
3. One percent for the planet (and for us)
4. UN report on worldwide green jobs
5. Cleantech investments quadrupled since 2004

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