Business leaders and climate experts have said the fight to stem climate change can only be won by commitment from every country on the planet.
Speaking at Lloyd’s 360 Debate on Climate Change yesterday, Chairman and Chief Executive of energy group Total, Thierry Desmarest said that those nations which had refused to sign up to the existing Kyoto Agreement on climate change had to be involved in the world’s response to greenhouse gas emissions.
He said: “It is vital that when the Kyoto agreement ends in 2012 that any new initiative is one which has the support of every nation.
The United States refused to sign up to the Kyoto Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and developing nations China and India are not bound by any limits on emissions.
“We at Total report our emissions levels on a global basis,” said Desmarest. “We do not simply produce figures for those countries where regulations demand us to do so. We believe that there needs to be a global standard and regulations for emission levels if we are to take real steps in the fight to reduce the level of greenhouse gases. The European Union has been working to reduce emissions but it will count for nothing unless the rest of the world can follow suit.”
The Lloyd’s conference brought together business leaders with climate and insurance experts to discuss the threat of climate change and the action needed to reduce greenhouse gases and preserve the environment. It follows the publication of a major report by Lloyd’s on the threat, entitled “Climate Change Adapt or Bust.”
Johan Eliasch, Chairman and Chief Executive of sportswear company, Head, backed Desmarest’s call adding there needs to be global standards as the major manufacturers continue to move their operations to India and China where emission limits are not in place.
“It is a problem and we have manufacturing plants in China via a joint venture because it is cost effective,” he said. “Our staff who oversee the operation will ask our partners what they are doing about reducing emissions, but there’s a feeling that for some countries they are looking to shift the problems to countries where there are no limits.”
Eliasch, added: “Terrorism, Iran and Iraq are small fry compared to the devastating effect emissions can have on this planet.”
Wyn Jones, Chairman of British Alcan Aluminium and Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry’s Energy Policy Committee said there was no denying that industry was part of the problem, but that industry as a whole did not fully recognise its role or responsibility. Industries within the developed nations are responsible for 20% of the global CO2 emissions.
Jones said industry needs to be part of the solution by learning to develop products, which actively reduce emissions.
The US’s stance on the issue remains a key stumbling block for many, as any progress on the reduction of greenhouse gases is doomed to failure without its commitment to change.
Bob Hartwig, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the Insurance Information Institute in the US said the country’s public remained far more concerned at a local level, but there still remain those who publicly dismiss climate change.
“The debate in the US is continuing,” he explained. “However, there does not seem to be any indication that any conclusion will be reached any time soon.”
Professor Bill McGuire, Benfield Professor of Geophysical Hazards at the University College London warned there was no good news on climate change.
He told the conference that predictions made in 2001 on the likely global rise in temperature by the end of the century were already being revised, with the upper limit of those estimates of slightly under six degrees centigrade increase now looking to be a realistic result. The resulting impact on the world's ice glaciers would lead to huge increase in sea levels making tens of millions homeless and impacting on the world’s supply of fresh water.
Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Peter Levene ended the conference by saying: “I believe the ideas which have been raised here may well turn into initiatives which will form part of the response to climate change.”
Lloyd’s is to issue a second report which will examine the issue raised by the conference and the potential solutions.
Property insurers paid $83bn in claims last year alone with the vast majority arising from natural disasters which scientists believe have been exacerbated by climate change. Ten of the hottest years in history have been recorded since 1990.
