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White Paper Companies pioneer in climate protection . th An industry perspective on the 5 IPCC Report, issued September 2013 by Renat Heuberger, CEO, South Pole Carbon The hour of the climatologists comes around every six years; time for the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (IPCC) to summarize the latest research results on climate change. The IPCC is not an environmental lobby group, but a panel of over a thousand researchers from the best universities in the world. In clear and distinct terms that one rarely hears from academic ivory towers these researchers unequivocally state "Yes, climate change is happening and its 95% probable that man has a hand in it. CO2 concentrations have undeniably risen to a level last seen nearly a million years ago.” Every few weeks the world is experiencing some extreme weather phenomenon that basically should never occur: an extreme drought in Australia, snow in June in Switzerland, a huge forest fire in the United States, a vast flood in India. The hour of climate sceptics also however comes around every six years: they make a sport of finding the needle in the haystack that doesn’t quite fit the picture amongst all of the results which indicate that climate change is extremely likely. This year it's the average global temperature because, contrary to expectations, it has not risen significantly over the last 15 years. However, the average temperature is not really of interest to the Filipino family whose home has just been swept away, nor the Swiss hotelier who has to make ends meet now that his hotel no longer overlooks the glacier. Yet the sceptics dominate the headlines: "There is no proof of climate change!" One is tempted to ask; has it actually been proven that cigarette smoke is harmful? I know an old man who has smoked all his life and never seen a doctor. And wouldn't it be an interesting business idea to take on clandestine cash accounts from the United States? After all, there is no proof that the American tax authorities are really taking action against my bank. It has not been proven, but it is very probable. People have trouble dealing with probable events, especially if they appear to show that an unpleasant change in behaviour is necessary. But wait - is it proven that looking after the climate demands that we make unpleasant changes in our behaviour? The opposite is far more likely; good money can be earned from climate protection. Many Swiss companies have become specialists in high-tech solutions which improve industrial processes and therefore also save energy. If the waste of energy and consequently CO2 emissions has a global price, then such technologies become even more competitive because efficiency leads to cost savings for the customer. For example, if a high-rise building is built in China to undemanding standards innovative building technology from Switzerland has little chance of being competitive. However, the situation immediately changes to the benefit of the building technician if CO2 has a value then the Swiss technology is worth real money. Emission trading could be used to establish a price on CO2; the state would set the total quantity of CO2 emissions to be saved. An industrial enterprise would have the option either to reduce CO2 itself or to buy emission rights from another industrial enterprise. The result is a market price for CO2. This price would rise until it is financially worthwhile for a sufficient number of companies to reduce CO2 emissions rather than buying emission 1 rights. It would become worthwhile for the company to invest in efficient technologies and this would bring about a new technologies breakthrough. Emission trading has decisive advantages over other measures such as a CO2 tax. Firstly, CO2 is reduced at plant level, where the most cost-effective savings are possible. Secondly, the absolute amount of CO2 reduction is defined from the outset, whereas no one can precisely predict the incentive and controlling effect of a tax. And thirdly - particularly important for the economy - emissions trading works counter-cyclically; in a boom phase energy consumption increases and with it the price of CO2. In a recession the opposite occurs. So, emissions trading would be an efficient and economically-friendly instrument for climate protection – however there is quite a different problem. Since the onset of the financial crisis worldwide political ambition to take responsibility for the climate has collapsed. Even the extremely low CO2 targets of the Kyoto Protocol have been extended more than once; consequently the price of CO2 has fallen. Currently it costs virtually nothing to pump CO2 into the air using inefficient technologies. As long as the global policy makers are not taking any action companies with a responsible energy policy still have the opportunity to take voluntary action. Many companies now measure and seek to reduce their CO2 footprint wherever possible. Innovative companies go a step further and offset residual CO2 emissions outside of their enterprise. This has enabled COOP Switzerland in collaboration with South Pole Carbon and the WWF to provide family run farms in Kenya growing fair trade roses for COOP with new, more efficient cooking stoves. Instead of spending hours collecting firewood, young girls can now attend school - and large quantities of CO2 are also saved. Pioneers take responsibility even when the policy makers are asleep. Thanks to global communications and social media, consumers can recognize and appreciate climatefriendly business strategies and ultimately set policies in motion for a global CO2 price, which, in turn, leads to rewards for the pioneers. The good news is that we can still curb climate change. And make a profit by solving the problem. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Learn more at: www.southpolecarbon.com Disclaimer: Please note that this publication is for your information only. Neither South Pole Carbon nor any person acting on behalf of South Pole Carbon is responsible for the use which might be made of the above information, especially not for the completeness and correctness of the material contained herein. 2