“The world is going through one of the most challenging moments in its history,” according to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.
Writing an endorsement in 'Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World', the UN chief warns of the need to accelerate the global green economic transformation.
In his foreword for the book, Steiner claims: “Climate change is accelerating and, unless checked, promises to be the greatest market failure of all time. And there are other serious challenges looming including natural resource scarcity to how the world will feed six billion, soon rising to nine billion people.
“Out of crisis, there is also however opportunity.
“Some economies and some forward thinking governments are showing leadership on a transition to low carbon, low resource-use and innovation-led societies.
“In order to support these green shoots, the United Nations Environment Programme launched in October 2008 the ‘Global Green New Deal’ - a response to the immediate crises - and our Green Economy initiative, a more medium - to long-term strategy.
“Part of this initiative includes work on ‘green jobs’, carried out with the International Labour Organisation, trade unions and employer organisations. The overall conclusion is that millions of green jobs are already being generated as economies commence the shift to low carbon, clean-tech ones.
“Major renewable energy economies and industries are emerging across Europe and North America as well as in China and India to name but a few.
“The challenge is to accelerate this green economic transformation and encourage the enabling market signals that will attract increasing numbers of global investors into tomorrow’s economy today.”
Steiner explains that the six sectors likely to generate the biggest transition in terms of economic returns; environmental sustainability and job creation are:
* Clean energy and clean technologies including recycling
* Rural energy, including renewable energies and sustainable biomass
* Sustainable agriculture, including organic agriculture
* Ecosystem infrastructure
* Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
* Sustainable cities including planning, transportation and green building.
He added: “Mobilising and re-focusing the global economy towards investments in clean technologies and ‘natural’ infrastructure such as forests and soils is the best bet for real growth, combating climate change and triggering an employment boom in the 21st century.
“Investors will play a key role in providing the capital for this growth and the transition to a low carbon economy. I welcome this publication as an important resource for the many global institutional and individual investors who are yet to realise the investment potential that will arise from the creation of a more sustainable world.”
'Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World' provides institutional and individual investors with an overview of the fast growing and dynamic low carbon technologies and the ways to and means to gain exposure to them.
It examines the environmental and low carbon technologies and sectors; the measurement tools, investment vehicles and markets available to investors; the macro issues that affect the outlook for investors, from regulatory issues to broader questions on the impact of climate change.
Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World on Amazon.
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