Combating Climate Change

Speaker: Arne Mogren, Vice President Public Affairs , Vattenfall

The climate change issue is global and long-term. Drastic greenhouse gas emission reductions must be made as soon as possible and, in the long term, capped to a sustainable level, i.e. to switch over to a low carbon emitting society. Emissions are closely linked to economic activities. Real long-term global governance is needed. Is a common effort at all possible?

To address this question, Vattenfall has outlined a global adaptive burden-sharing model with a long-term perspective. The model stretches over 100 years and is based on the assumption that an overwhelming majority of all countries commit to participate in the system given that they will only face restrictions once the country is wealthy enough in relative terms. The long-term predictability and the flexibility needed for economic growth can thereby be sustained. Most important is that we start now by forming a burden-sharing model built on commitments to long-term reductions.

Curbing climate change is about combining technology, finance and policy in a wise way. If that is done worldwide a carbon dioxide market will follow. Technology and finance are not an unsolvable problem, given time and incentives, neither is financing. The real challenge is policy.

An issue of outstanding importance is the future role of the international business community. Up to now, business leaders in general let governments handle the challenge on their own. Looking forward, business and industry have to show more leadership and, instead of being pulled by society, business leaders should be pushing and integrating climate issues into the world of markets and trade on a global scale.

The speech touched five issues:
• Is a long-term adaptive burden-sharing model possible? 
• The need for a global price on carbon dioxide emissions and how markets can contribute 
• What is needed to implement a global market based regime regarding carbon dioxide? 
• Technology (including capture and storage) and clean coal technologies 
• EU ETS