This article is initiated by Pornlert Lattanan
President & National Executive, General Electric Company in Thailand & Laosv
During these years, we may feel the change of global climate i.e. El-Nino, La-Nina, Tsunami or snow crisis in UK, which happens for the first time in many years and recently with the earthquake in Haiti, where it affected to thousands of people. We probably cannot deny that it is the effect of the world climate changing.
The negotiations at Copenhagen Climate Change Conference during December 6th-18th , 2009 and their outcome have brought sharp focus to the need to address the problem of climate change on a global basis.
The reality is that the problem will not be solved only with a global framework but will require local action and implementation of effective carbon reduction strategies.
Today, cities cover less than one per cent of the earth's surface but they are said to consume some 75 per cent of world energy and generate 75 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions.
Half the world's population lives in cities and urban areas and it is predicted that this will rise to two-thirds by 2050. The concentration of resources in cities is a growing challenge but it can also be a useful weapon in fighting climate change.
Cities today are often centres of new thinking and policy innovation that can lead the way for others and this is something we need to harness effectively as we strive to address this problem and kick start a new phase of sustainable growth.
Today, we are seeing cities take the lead on the climate challenge. For example, the EU's 20/20 targets for the reduction of emissions focus on the role cities play and in many cases they are not only looking at meeting these targets but exceeding them.
Blaming cities misses the point that well-planned and governed cities are key to de-linking a high quality of life from high levels of consumption. They are potential catalysts for addressing the challenge and we have created a range of technologies that can help them do this.
Even though sustainable development, as a practical concept, is of recent origin, the Middle East has made rapid advancements. The most notable is the Masdar City initiative, the first world's first carbon neutral, zero waste city being built in Abu Dhabi.
While there is an environmental imperative to addressing the issue of climate change, the scarcity of resources and infrastructural challenges, there is also an economic imperative. Increasingly cities are the powerhouses of economies.
In many cases they are a significant portion of a country's GDP. For example, Seoul, Brussels and Budapest generate more than one third of the GDP of their respective countries and as a result their efficiency is crucial to the prosperity of their nation.
As people continue to migrate towards large urban areas, it creates its own challenges for national and city governments.
Attracting investment is crucial.
Development and employment will migrate towards those cities and regions where it is attractive, easiest and cost competitive to do business. High productivity, a well-developed infrastructure and supporting industry, social cohesion and investment as well as policies designed to reinforce all elements of a city's competitiveness are key.
In today's highly competitive environment, cities need to keep a focus on what it is that can create competitive advantage and attract investment and ultimately employment. Those cities that get this will be those who will emerge from the current financial crisis in a position to capitalise on the next stage of growth.
Addressing climate change can not only solve a major environmental problem it can also have the added benefit of stimulating economic growth.
We can solve one of the world's biggest problems while we create million of jobs for workers to build technology for the global economy for decades to come.
The global market in low carbon goods and services is already worth $4.3 trillion (Dh15.7trn) and is expected to grow by half again in the next decade -- generating as many as 10 million new sustainable green jobs globally in the process.
The consequences of not addressing the climate change problem are potentially catastrophic but the prize of taking action is great both in social, economic and environmental terms.
Cities will be pivotal to addressing this issue -- it has to begin there.
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