Living in Interesting Times
The discussion was very lively and a couple of points that were raised really resonated. In particular the importance of cities as political and economic entities was highlighted, and it was suggested that this had increased in the wake of the economic crisis.
The pragmatic approach is for city governments to work directly with corporates to drive progress which circumvents blockages within national administrations.
This is the logical conclusion of the perceived abrogation of responsibility by national governments for leadership in the field of sustainability.
In the UK despite the fact that a third of current economic growth is coming from the green sector (which employs 940,000 people), government support for this sector is patchy. By corporates have come to understand the risks and opportunities associated with resource scarcity and sustainable business practices, and are becoming frustrated by a lack of engagement by policy makers with these issues.
Personally, I found all this rather alarming as it does rather circumventing the democratic process! But on the upside the issue of climate change has not “gone away”, climate change adaptation- coping with water stress, heatwaves and flooding is under the microscope following hurricane Sandy.
As (somewhat depressingly) the rest of world takes its cues from the US when it comes to environmental issues, I am hopeful that the damage done to American crops livestock and buildings by drought and hurricane will spur a re-engagement with the issue of climate change.
Ultimately money talks, and the green agenda is getting too expensive to ignore.
