Energy & Climate Change

As the Earth's temperature rises, so does the will to find climate solutions. In the United States, more than 30 states, 600 cities, and 500 universities are developing comprehensive action plans to reduce heat-trapping gases. Recent polls show that young voters in the United States identify global warming as one of the four most important issues to consider when voting for a presidential candidate. Europe now has a continent-wide cap-and-trade program, and Chinese energy-efficiency measures have cut carbon emissions and costs dramatically.

Moreover, many of the world’s largest corporations are outpacing governments, pushing their business units and suppliers to cut carbon emissions sharply. Leading venture capitalists see clean energy as the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century. From China to northern Europe to Silicon Valley, fortunes are being made from solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. “Green-collar jobs” are revitalizing U.S. cities, while energy efficient technologies are boosting company profits around the world.

Still, climate scientists send increasingly dire warnings. In December 2007, more than 200 of the world’s leading climatologists signed a “Bali Declaration” warning that if immediate action is not taken, “many millions of people will be at risk from extreme events such as heat waves, drought, floods, and storms, our coasts and cities will be threatened by rising sea levels, and many ecosystems, plants and animal species will be in serious danger of extinction…There is no time to lose.”

No silver bullet can solve the climate crisis. We must bring down market barriers, quicken the pace of innovation, enact policies to promote clean energy, and above all, put a price on carbon emissions. Lessons learned in one part of the globe must be shared broadly to help address problems in other regions.

This year, the energy and climate working group of the Clinton Global Initiative will focus on four pivotal areas that can accelerate progress – energy efficiency, renewable energy, “clean transport,” and local leadership.

Ending Energy Waste will highlight ways to improve energy efficiency—the quickest, easiest, and cheapest method to fight global warming is to end energy waste. Rising energy prices have sparked new attention to the opportunity for companies, building owners, consumers, and many others to save money while cutting emissions. Businesses are fundamentally rethinking not only what products they make but entire paradigms for sourcing, manufacturing, transporting, and marketing. Energy consumption is becoming central to new building design and new businesses are emerging to capture the huge potential in retrofitting buildings to save energy. Consumers are demanding cars, appliances, and homes that will help cope with escalating fuel and electricity bills. The time is ripe for fresh attention to the myriad opportunities for improving energy efficiency. This session will explore concrete steps CGI members can take to save money and cut emissions by ending energy waste.

Renewables Revolution explores the global phenomenon of renewable energy, now growing at record rates. Solar entrepreneurs are making vast fortunes in China. Wind power provided 30 percent of new power in the United States last year and more than 20 percent of total power in Denmark. Geothermal energy delivers electricity in Iceland and California. Yet today renewable energy provides only a tiny percentage of global energy needs. Market barriers, erratic and inconsistent regulatory regimes, high costs for some technologies, and lack of knowledge block progress. This session will explore how renewable energy can be scaled up quickly to help meet the world's energy demand and how every CGI member can help.

Clean Transport will address a topic of urgent importance to every nation on earth. In the next two decades, the number of cars and trucks on the planet is projected to grow from roughly 800 million to 2 billion. No solution to global warming is possible without revolutionary changes in our vehicle fleets. While the challenge is immense, signs of hope abound. Already, the hybrid revolution is changing vehicle fleets everywhere. Plug-in electric vehicles radically improve fuel efficiency and can be recharged from clean renewable sources such as the sun and wind. Advanced biofuels dramatically cut emissions of heat-trapping gases. Transit systems improve quality of life while reducing emissions. With oil prices at record highs, drivers everywhere are clamoring for alternatives to conventional transportation. This session will explore ways to cut emissions from the transport sector while providing mobility to people around the world.

Local Leadership

Leadership on climate change is emerging from the ground up around the world. From mayors to governors to civic groups to developers, local leaders are not waiting for national governments to act. These efforts are already delivering substantial emissions reductions and promise more progress for years to come. With roughly half the world’s population living in urban areas and the urban population expected to grow by more than 500 million people in the decades ahead, these programs are critical to the fight against global warming. This session will explore innovative ways that local leaders in all sectors can improve quality of life while combating climate change

Working Group Chair

David Sandalow
Senior Fellow
The Brookings Institution

Advisory Board

Wesley Clark
Former Army General
Senior Fellow, UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations; Director, Emergya Wind Technologies, BV

Abby Joseph Cohen
Global Markets Institute and Senior Investment Strategist
Goldman Sachs & Co.

Shirley Ann Jackson
President
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Van Jones
Founder and President
Green for All

Yolanda Kakabadse
Adviser
Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano

Peggy Liu
Founder and Chairperson
Joint U.S.-China Co-operation on Clean Energy

Wangari Muta Maathai
Founder
Green Belt Movement, Kenya

Julia Marton-Lefèvre
Director General
International Union for Conservation of Nature - IUCN

Billy Parish
Co-Founder
Energy Action Coalition

Carl Pope
Executive Director
Sierra Club

William Reilly
Senior Advisor
TPG Capital, LP

Achim Steiner
Executive Director
United Nations Environment Programme