[SustainableTompkins] Never mind altruism: 'Saving the earth' can mean big bucks

[GayNicholson at aol.com]

 (http://www.csmonitor.com/) 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
    from the October 25, 2006 edition -  
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1025/p04s01-wogi.html  
Never mind altruism: 'Saving the earth' can mean big  bucks 
Some $1 trillion in 'green' business opportunities await  creative 
entrepreneurs, a report finds.  
By _Mark  Rice-Oxley_ 
(http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/encryptmail.pl?ID=B2B0B0B4B0B7B2B0B0B9B4B7B5B5)  | Correspondent of The Christian Science  Monitor  
LONDON   
Bruno D'Hommee produces a compass from his pocket and points it  toward a 
bright, blustery autumnal sky. "Good," he says, " the roof  is facing southwest. 
It's just about ideal - it will catch the full  arc of the sun." 
The sun is one of Mr. D'Hommee's most important assets. It does,  after all, 
work long hours for his company, beating down on the  solar panels he sells to 
heat household water. And judging by the  growth of his business, which has 
expanded from one local office in  southern England to almost national coverage 
in recent years, he's  selling the idea rather well. 
"In 10 years time, I would think most homes in the UK would have  either a 
[solar] device, a wind turbine, or a geothermal unit" for  domestic energy, he 
predicts. 
As the international community faces costs in the trillions to  address 
climate change, businessmen are increasingly becoming aware  that changing the 
world - its fuels, technologies, energy sources,  and waste disposal practices - 
can be an opportunity as well as a  cost. 
For small- and medium-sized British companies, it could mean $55  billion 
worth of business opportunities over the coming decade,  according to a new 
report commissioned by oil giant Shell UK. And  globally, the market could be worth 
$1 trillion over the next five  years, the report found. Such conclusions 
challenge President Bush's  assertion that adopting the Kyoto Protocol, which 
compels  signatories to cut greenhouse gases, would seriously damage  America's 
economy. 
"President Bush is right to argue that tackling climate change  will cost us 
money," notes Robin Smale, director of Vivid Economics,  the London 
consultancy that produced the report for Shell. "But for  every pound or dollar 
consumers spend on [green technology or  services], this is going to the people who 
are doing something about  it: the people making the biofuels or building new 
environmentally  friendly housing or putting up the windfarms." 
While the costs are substantial, and some people will inevitably  lose jobs 
as industries adapt to new regulations and demands,  dithering could prove even 
more costly. An authoritative report by a  former World Bank vice president, 
Sir Nicholas Stern, due out  imminently in Britain is expected to argue that 
the future economic  costs of failing to act will far outweigh the cost of 
action today  to mitigate climate change. Another recent report by Friends of the  
Earth in conjunction with Tufts University argued that spending £1.6  
trillion ($2 trillion) a year now could avert £6.4 trillion ($8  trillion) in annual 
damages further down the line. 
According to Dr. Smale, 90 percent will stem from government  action. The 
authorities have already moved to: tighten energy  efficiency in buildings, force 
energy providers to use renewable  sources in their supply, force gas 
stations to source some of their  product from green fuel; and encourage more 
vigorous recycling. 
Some leading British industrialists and businessmen are already  getting the 
message. Sir Alan Sugar, the tycoon star of the British  version of The 
Apprentice, put his latest recruit in charge of the  ecological disposal of old 
computers. 
Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson announced last month that he  would invest a 
decade's worth of profit from his Virgin travel  business - $3 billion, give 
or take - in major research efforts into  alternative energy sources. Hailed 
as an act of great charity, it  may prove a shrewd business investment. 
Consumers and companies  voluntarily taking action to save the planet could also 
contribute  to the rise in "green" business profits. 
"If you are going to take action to tackle climate change, it  will not 
necessarily reduce economic growth, just give you different  economic growth," says 
Beverley Darkin, a senior research fellow and  climate change expert at 
London's Chatham House think tank. 
Ms. Darkin cites as an example a recent trip she took to  Montreal. Concerned 
about the "carbon cost" of her trip, she paid a  small "fee" of around $20 to 
Climate Care, a company that mitigates  carbon emissions by planting trees in 
developing countries. Climate  Care has enjoyed exponential growth in recent 
years. Indeed, the  global offset market is expected to leap fivefold to more 
than $500  million in the next three years. 
But not everyone is a convert. A recent survey found few of  Britain's 
biggest companies are actually adapting to climate change.  Big companies are still 
showing reluctance to chase the new  opportunities.Greenpeace points out that 
even though Shell is  encouraging small green businesses to develop their 
technologies, it  still devotes around 98 percent of its capital expenditure to  
hydrocarbons. 
"They are not positioned very well," says Charlie Kronick, a  Greenpeace 
spokesman. "The bulk of their activity is focused on  hydrocarbons." 
In its defense, Shell said it wanted "both to build on its oil  and gas 
presence and to be well placed to capitalize on these  opportunities as they 
develop." 
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----------------------------------------------------
Gay  Nicholson, Ph.D. 

607-533-7312 (home office)
607-279-6618  (cell)

1 Maple Avenue
Lansing, NY  14882
gaynicholson at aol.com

Sustainable Tompkins 
Program  Coordinator 
w_ww.sustainabletompkins.org_ (http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/) 

Southern Tier Energy$mart Communities
Regional  Coordinator
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
615 Willow  Ave., Ithaca, NY  14850
agn1 at cornell.edu