The Business Case for Protecting the Climate

Google Tech Talks
August 20, 2008

ABSTRACT

This presentation is drawn from Hunter's recent lead chapter in the U.S. Presidential Climate Action Project's report to the President-elect. It describes the business case for moving aggressively to solve such challenges as global warming, peak oil, the vulnerability of our energy infrastructure and others. Hunter discusses how climate protection, energy efficiency, renewable energy and other sustainable approaches will give us a stronger economy, and a higher quality of life. Hunter discusses how to unleash the new energy economy as the antidote to life in a carbon constrained world. The global climate crisis threatens many aspects of life on earth, including access to water. Energy is a relatively easy challenge to solve. But providing access to water, both at home and in water-short regions around the globe will not be trivial. Fortunately, in water, as in energy, there are solutions that cost less, work better and can deliver a higher quality of life. Hunter will describe how communities and companies are implementing these and many other strategies to cut their costs and drive their innovation.

Speaker: Hunter Lovins
L. Hunter Lovins is President and founder of the Natural Capitalism Solutions. NCS educates senior decision-makers in business, government and civil society to restore and enhance the natural and human capital while increasing prosperity and quality of life. In partnership with leading thinkers and implementers, NCS creates innovative, practical tools and strategies to enable companies, communities and countries to become more sustainable.

Trained as a sociologist and lawyer (JD), Hunter co-founded the California Conservation Project (Tree People), and Rocky Mountain Institute, which she led for 20 years. Lovins has consulted for scores of industries and governments worldwide. She has consulted with large and small companies including the International Finance Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, Interface, Clif Bar and Wal-Mart. Governmental clients include the Pentagon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other agencies, numerous cities, and the governments of Jamaica, Australia, and the U.S. She also serves an advisor to the Energy Minister of the Government of Afghanistan.

Recipient of such honors as the Right Livelihood Award, Lindbergh Award and Leadership in Business, she was named Time Magazine 2000 Hero of the Planet. She has co-authored nine books and hundreds of papers, including the 1999 book, Natural Capitalism and 2006 Climate Protection Manual for Cities. She has served on the boards of governments, non and for profit companies.

Hunter's areas of expertise include Natural Capitalism, sustainable development, globalization, energy and resource policy, economic development, climate change, land management, and fire rescue and emergency medicine. She developed the Economic Renewal Project and helped write many of its manuals on sustainable community economic development. She is currently a founding Professor of Business at Presidio School of Management, one of the first accredited programs offering an MBA in Sustainable Management.

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Science & Technology

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[JohnnySoftware]

I have been hearing a lot about "green jobs" this summer. This video explains them.

It also laid out what the financial incentive is for creating these positions at traditional companies.

They save lots of money, have fewer worries about getting insurance, and reduce their exposure to risk. All those things make them more competitive.

Detroit automakers conversely ignored this and are now asking for $50B loan from feds so they can stay in business! Their profits went to Japan automakers.

[CptCrash21]

That's not really that big a problem. If you read her book "Natural Capitalism" she addresses that issue from several different angles. Besides all that, there are plenty of innovative solutions to this.

[MrMsFanta]

@zassounotsukushi Have you heard about Chernobyl or have you been studying chemistry at all? Where do you think those companies will dump the radioactive waste???? I am sure Not In Your Back Yard but in my country...Africa! That is where all the effects of climate change.

I understand 500billion is a lot of money but we should change little-by-little so that everyone can adapt themselves with the green movement!

[MrMsFanta]

@i0null Where do you live? the consequences of climate change (which result from an unsustainable use of our resources) are not visible in rich country. Go to Africa or Australia and you will see how the climate change affect life.

Okay, so let's say you do not believe in Climate Change but do you think we will have enough oil for the next generation. World population will double in a few years, how about the oil?

[CptCrash21]

(Comment directed towards "xcodingmonkeyx")

[CptCrash21]

I think I understand where you're coming from now. Glad to see you're not just offering unsubstantiated pejorative posts on here. Having followed much of her work, and tentatively claiming to understand her way of thinking, I'm going to see if I can clear it up on her behalf. She's probably coming to that number on her own. She probably heard their lobbies (for say 50bil)and counted with that the cost of additional infrastructure projects, negative effects on competition, market adjustments, etc

[zassounotsukushi]

No!

My point is that these numbers are simply not possible. The entire value of the ENTIRE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY in the nation would not approach $500 billion! Does this make any sense to you?

All U.S. federal spending into fission power in all of history amounts to about $100 billion.

They did not request that. It is far from logistically possible (outright laughable), and only someone with no concept of large numbers would think it is.

[CptCrash21]

and you do, "assfaceg"?