Nobel Laureates have called for urgent action for a low-carbon future. The announcement came yesterday at the close of the three-day St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium, held in London under the patronage of The Prince of Wales.
The event was a continuation of the Nobel Laureate Symposium Series on Global Sustainability instigated in 2007 at Potsdam, and brought together around 60 leading scientists from a range of disciplines, including 20 Nobel Laureates, top-level representatives from politics and NGOs and sustainability experts. Nobel prize winners in Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Peace and Literature were all in attendance, and presentations were given by the US Secretary of Energy Dr Steven Chu and Professor Simon Schama among others renowned in their field.
The Symposium addressed the size of the climate crisis and possible strategies and solutions, including issues of energy and infrastructure and the coordination of global responses to the challenges.
The Memorandum signed by the Laureates states: “The St James’s Palace Memorandum calls for a global deal on climate change that matches the scale and urgency of the human, ecological and economic crises facing the world today. It urges governments at all levels, as well as the scientific community, to join with business and civil society to seize hold of this historic opportunity to transform our carbon-intensive economies into sustainable and equitable systems. We must recognise the fierce urgency of now.”
It goes on to outline a number of recommendations, including a call for firm political leadership from all countries.
It states: “A long-term commitment under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is now urgently required.
“The global agreement in Copenhagen must include the following elements:
* Acknowledging the compelling evidence of science we should confine the temperature rise to two degrees Celsius to avoid unmanageable climate risks. This can only be achieved with a peak of global emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2015 and at least a 50 percent emission reduction by 2050 on a 1990 baseline. This in turn means that developed countries have to aim for a 25-40 percent reduction by 2020. A robust measure of assessing the necessary emission reductions is a total carbon budget, which should be accepted as the base for measuring the effectiveness of short-term (2020) and long-term (2050) targets.
* The creation of carbon prices adopted across large parts of the global economy combined with measures to lower the price of low-carbon energy, especially in developing countries. Funds raised should be used to provide the necessary financial support for adaptation.
* The agreement must acknowledge the priority of developing countries to overcome poverty while ensuring sustainable development.”
The Memorandum also highlights the necessity for an immediate “revolution” in energy infrastructure, increasing conservation and efficiency, while pointing out that the technological innovations required to achieve this will not be possible without “an unprecedented partnership” between business and government.
Specifically, it emphasises the need for the following areas to be addressed:
* Clear policy frameworks aimed at fostering innovation and the demonstration, scale up and roll out of low-carbon technologies including globally coordinated investment frameworks, linked to economic recovery, with the emphasis on ‘green growth’.
* Developed countries should commit to a significant increase in investments for research, development and deployment.
* Technology sharing and financial support, through mechanisms such as globally supported feed-in-tariffs for renewable energy, are required to help developing countries leapfrog to a low carbon economy.
* The establishment of “smart grids” – connecting renewable energy sources over large areas and implementing novel energy storage technologies.
The Symposium was hosted at the Royal Society and St. James’s Palace, and convened by the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership in association with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
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