As everyone knows, experts and scientists believe that climate change is one of the biggest environmental threats that are facing the world at this point. Hence, there is a genuine thrust towards using more cleaner and renewable sources of energy as opposed to fossil fuels among policymakers across the world. That being said, it is also important to note that a lot more still needs to be done and hence policymakers are still looking at ways in which the switch from fossil fuels to renewables can be done more quickly. The United Nations Climate Action Summit is going to take place soon, and the global body is keen to involve the private sector to bring about the much-needed change in terms of energy policies. The ultimate aim is to make as many large economies as low carbon as possible and for that to happen, the private sector in these countries would need to be mobilized quite meaningfully.
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The director of Bloomberg’s global public policy Mara Childress stated that the need of the hour is in “engaging the private sector and making sure investment flows go where they need to and shifting trillions to low-carbon solutions”. She went on to state that the investments in renewable energy have gone up significantly over the past few years at a global level. According to Childress, the investments in this sector has now gone up to a staggering $354 billion last year from only $60 billion back in 2004. However, much of the nudge in this direction has come from the various state governments, and there are doubts among many policymakers whether the private sector can step in, in order to cover the deficits.
However, it goes without saying that the private sector does have a massive role to play if there is going to be a greater switch to renewables. Michael Bloomberg, who has been a vocal supporter of renewable energy usage over fossil fuels, also spoke about the fact that investment in renewables is ultimately going to benefit the corporate sector. He said,
More and more business leaders recognize that economic growth and climate action are not two competing ideas – they go hand in hand.
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It is a persuasive argument, and it remains to be seen how some of the biggest business owners in the world react to it.
