An international climate investment community

The world is facing a huge challenge: to convert our economies and energy systems so that we move from today’s strong dependence on abundant supplies of fossil energy to highly energy-efficient and secure solutions for the future. New technologies and the use of renewable energy resources will be required. It is possible, but it will demand massive investments and most of all, good governance.

That is exactly where UNFCCC was supposed to lead – good and coordinated governance for sustainable climate mitigation and adaptation worldwide. We are not there yet: it will take time to achieve global agreement. Like many other concerned citizens, think tanks and institutions, we think that the situation is far too serious to wait for a sufficiently far-reaching global convention. Present trends point to a 3-4 degree increase in temperature before the end of the century.

As a complementary approach to the stalled UNFCCC negotiations this report launches the idea of an International Climate Investment Community. The EU has been at the forefront before and can be again: it can take the lead in creating a community that would speed up innovations and investments, starting now. The key factor behind the transition would be a change in relative prices between fossil and low-carbon technologies that will give the markets the right incentives to change.

Författare: Allan Larsson och Måns Lönnroth

Utgiven: 2010

GU-rapport 2010:2