“Seizing the opportunity for innovation”



Prof. Dr. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a leading climate researcher and political advisor, describes the risks, opportunities and necessities of climate protection.

Climate change is not pausing for the financial crisis, but is continuing unabated. Can the ambitious European climate protection goals be met even in difficult economic times and can industry handle an additional burden?

Isn’t the much more urgent question how much more of a burden can the global climate system handle? Climate change is happening quickly and relentlessly. It would be irresponsible to stand idly by and a grave mistake not to take advantage of the innovation and growth potential offered by the project of the century, decarbonization – abandoning fossil-fuel based subsistence strategies. Many German companies are particularly suited to playing a profitable, pioneering role in this transformation. Climate protection is not a barrier to sustainable economic growth, it is a requirement.

With its High-Tech Strategy for Climate Protection, the German government is banking on technological advances and improved cooperation between scientists, economists and politicians. What are the expectations for the strategy?

The aim is to agree on goals, spread risks and consolidate competencies. The High-Tech Strategy creates incentives by promoting innovation alliances. Of course I am particularly pleased that an institute for advanced studies in sustainability research is being created in Potsdam. There, scientists from around the world will study crucial questions pertaining to the huge transformations that today’s industrial society will have to undergo, and from which German politics and our economy can only profit.

You are the official sponsor of the study entitled “Climate protection – opportunities and challenges for small and medium-sized companies”, published by Commerzbank’s UnternehmerPerspektiven initiative. What contribution can small and medium-sized German companies make in order to limit the effects of climate change?

We need a global technology revolution. Small and medium- sized companies would play a decisive role in this as many of them are particularly enthusiastic, risk tolerant and flexible. Flat hierarchies and efficient processes increase their decision-making power. I have faith in the power of SMEs to innovate. But policymakers need to establish framework conditions that give companies security.

Following on from the SME study, Commerzbank developed climate:coach, an energy consulting tool for SMEs. How do you rate this service?

The transition to sustainable business strategies requires smart and bold investments. Banks make a decisive contribution to this by financing innovative technologies and developing new green products. With the climate:coach tool, Commerzbank is offering a very important service to reduce the tremendous complexity of the topic and shed light on the associated business management options available. Companies are given the option of assessing the energy efficiency and CO₂ intensity of their production processes in a way they can understand, thereby combining financial expertise with climate know-how and facilitating the transition to sustainable business operations.

What measures need to be taken in terms of climate policy to limit the rise in average global warming to 2°C?

Around 130 countries – including the G8 states – have declared that they want to adhere to this 2°C target. The decisive factor will be whether this level is anchored in a binding agreement for all countries of the world at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. The to-do list of climate policy is then a matter of compelling logic. By 2050, no more than approximately 700 billion tonnes of CO₂ should be emitted from fossil fuels worldwide. This global budget can be distributed among the global population in a fair manner, resulting in direct reduction obligations for individual countries. “CO₂-insolvent” countries would have to acquire additional emission rights. The high demand from industrial countries could lead to a comprehensive finance and technology transfer from north to south via emissions trading. The draft budget proposal is easy to grasp and could serve as a blueprint for the Kyoto followup agreement.

Until now emissions trading has only existed in the EU, and currently only comprises a fraction of all greenhouse gas emission and pollutants. What needs to be done to expand emissions trading in order to achieve all of our climate protection targets?

That is not entirely true. In the US, ten states have already introduced an emissions trading system as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. To maximize the results, however, it is vital to expand trading on a global basis and involve all sectors. One way of doing this would be to couple the acquisition of fossil fuels directly to the acquisition of certificates. Geographically speaking, trade could be expanded by linking together regional systems, or even by setting up a global trading system within the context of a new global climate agreement. This will open up a promising business area for the new Commerzbank with its extensive experience in the field of emissions trading and renewable energies.

The scenarios being predicted by climate researchers are overwhelmingly bleak. On the other hand, you say that it would be possible and even lucrative to make the Western world largely carbonless by 2050. What do you mean by this?

If we continue to do “business as usual” this century, the forecast does not look good – to put it mildly. If climate change continues at its current pace, Central Europe would probably get off relatively lightly, environmentally speaking, but the influx of environmental refugees would undermine socio-political systems in the longer run. On the other hand, reserves of fossil fuels will inevitably come to an end, and regardless of what happens a new industrial society will need to be established. Why shouldn’t resourceful and agile entrepreneurs be able to take advantage of what could be a global start-up period? Black is not the only colour we can use to paint our future.