The Benefits of Climate Action Far Outweigh the Costs

Despite problems with existing economic models and resistance from political and business leaderships the logic of climate action is irrefutable. The merits of climate action is born out by a slew of studies and rudimentary math. 

When we factor the costs of environmental damage it is difficult to come up with an assessment that does not convincingly demonstrate the value of climate action over business as usual. Here are three separate assessments that come to the same fundamental conclusion.

In a 2018 Vox article David Roberts concludes, "these days, it has gotten almost impossible to make sustainability look like a bad deal." He points to the fact that as the cost of business as usual keep rising, the costs of sustainable alternatives keep declining.

Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets

In a 2018 Guardian article Damian Carrington says that climate action will save the world $30 trillion in damages which is far more than the costs of cutting carbon emissions. Citing an article published in Nature Carrington writes, "Data from the last 50 years shows clearly that when temperatures rise, GDP and other economic measures fall in most nations, due to impacts on factors including labour productivity, agricultural output and health."

"By the end of the century, we find the world will be about 3% wealthier if we actually achieve the 1.5C target relative to 2C target," said Marshall Burke, assistant professor at Stanford University in the US, who led the new work. "In dollar terms, this represents about $30tn in cumulative benefits...The estimated cost of meeting the 1.5C target is about $0.5tn over the next 30 years," he said: "So our evidence suggest the benefits of meeting the targets vastly outweigh the costs...We also calculated what’s going to be the additional economic cost if we hit 3C instead of 2C. This will cost the globe an additional 5-10% of GDP, relative to 2C; that is tens of trillions of dollars. These are very large numbers," Marshall said.

The actual costs are likely to be much higher as study did not include the costs of climate change that are hard to quantify.

Cambridge University’s Judge Business School

In a 2015 Think Progress article Joe Romm wrote that climate action avoids over $400 Trillion in damages. Romm was citing an analysis from Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. The author, Chris Hope, an expert on the economics of climate change, told Romm that the "corresponding value for a low emissions scenario is about $80 trillion." The cost of melting permafrost alone represents $43 trillion in damages. "So climate action remains a figurative no brainer," Romm said "and climate inaction remains a literal no-brainer."

Although it may seem obvious, straight forward math is confounded by disinformation from those with dirty energy agendas and misinformation from short term thinkers. However, even those with tiny time horizons will find that there are short and medium term savings that come with climate action.

New Climate Economy Report

Roberts said a global shift to sustainability would save us $26 trillion by 2030. He cites the 2018 New Climate Economy Report that says, "We can have growth that is strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive." The report looked at energy, cities, food/land use, water, and industry/innovation/transportation and indicated that almost $90 trillion will be invested in infrastructure in the next decade.

"[S]hifting to sustainable technologies and techniques would save trillions of dollars through 2030 in increased productivity, innovation, and reduced health costs. Sustainability costs less," Roberts wrote about the report. "Policymakers worldwide need to price carbon, roll back fossil fuel subsidies (and other policies that impede sustainability), invest in sustainable infrastructure, harness the private sector, and protect vulnerable communities." 

The report also indicates that current models and projections underplay the benefits of transitioning to a sustainable low carbon economy. "Current economic models are deeply inadequate in capturing the opportunities of such a transformational shift, or the grave dangers of climate inaction," the report states. "We need a new class of economic models that can capture the powerful dynamics at play, including transformative technological advances, preservation of essential natural capital, and the full health benefits of cleaner air and a safer climate, including the containment of pandemic diseases."

We have the required solutions but we need the will to enact policy to scale them up.  In addition to problems with our economic models we are also contending with a failure of leadership. "The barrier — now, as always... is sufficient political and business leadership," the report said.


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A Realist Makes the Case for Cassandra

Is this the best of times or the worst of times? Charles Dickens historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities begins with the words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

In a recent article Stephen Martin Walt assesses our times and weighs the merits of optimistic assessments alongside more apocalyptic interpretations. He asks: "Who’s right: Cassandra or Dr. Pangloss? Are we on the brink of serious trouble, as Cassandra of Greek myth prophesied, or is all for the best 'in this best of all possible worlds,'  as the fictional Pangloss insisted in Voltaire’s Candide?"

Walt is an American professor of international affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He belongs to the realist school of international relations. He has made important contributions to the theory of defensive neorealism and he has authored the balance of threat theory.

For those who are interested in a cogent and sound analysis Walt offers a review that is well worth the read. He lays out the facts in a way that transcends the usual polemics. In the May 20th Foreign Policy article Walt leads with a discussion of climate change which he describes as the "single most vexing political test humankind has ever faced." Here is an unabridged excerpt of his comments on the climate crisis from the article.

"We haven’t known about man-made climate change for very long, but alarming evidence of its negative consequences continues to accumulate. Moreover, the pace and extent of change appears to be closer to the worst-case end of the spectrum. We are virtually certain to see a rise of more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit in atmospheric temperature in the next 20 years, for example, and a major study by the United Nations scientific panel on climate change estimates that a rise of that magnitude would cause roughly $54 trillion (!) worth of damage.

But the troubling part is how tepid the response has been. A well-funded army of people rejecting mainstream climate science tried first to convince us the problem simply didn’t exist, and they have worked to block meaningful actions to address it. At the global level, profligate energy users mostly tried to make sure that somebody else got stuck with the costs of mitigation. When the president of the United States refuses to accept that climate change is even occurring and wants to resurrect coal (the dirtiest of all fossil fuels), you know we’re in trouble. And my guess—see here—is that adapting to this problem is going to affect politics and society in ways we’ve barely begun to imagine.

I’m not saying dealing with this challenge is easy. It’s always hard to get people to make sacrifices today for the sake of future generations, and there are big cross-generational and cross-national equity issues involved. In fact, I believe developing an effective global response to atmospheric warming is the single most vexing political test humankind has ever faced. And so far, we’re flunking it, and placing whole societies in risk. Boy, I hope I’m wrong."

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Training - Certified Sustainability (CSR) Practitioner Program, Advanced Edition

This event will take place on June, 06 - 07 2019 in New York City. The 2019 Sustainability Practitioner Certification Program: Sustainability Strategy and Circular Economy will give you the insights you need to meet the serious challenges we face. This two-day training offered by CSE aims to give you all the latest practical tools and resources required to implement or upscale corporate sustainability in order to drive your initiatives to the next level by generating value and creating effective strategies. Executives from Fortune 500 companies, local governments and academia have trusted CSE and participated in our advanced training to become Certified Sustainability (CSR) Practitioners and earn a unique recognition in the Sustainability and CSR field. Click here to see the training agenda.

Key Challenges:

• The challenge of Integrating SDGs into the current Sustainability Plan
• New trends in Sustainability and how to gain a competitive advantage
• How to maximize stakeholder engagement
• How to influence C-Suite Executives and get most of their support into the Sustainability Plan
• The role of Investors and how to maximize your corporate performance in ESG ratings

Benefits of the Advanced Edition, 2019 Sustainability Practitioner Program in NYC:

• Earn the globally recognized Sustainability (CSR)-P Certification and become a qualified Sustainability Professional
• Access CSE business network (leaders from Fortune 500 Companies and Government Representatives)
• Develop a two-year sustainability plan

Places are limited. Click here to register.

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The Trump Administration's War on Wildlife

The Trump administration is working to erode protections designed to safeguard America's wildlife. As reiterated in a new U.N. report we are destroying biodiversity at an unprecedented rate.  The future of life on this planet is looking bleak as the world's most powerful nation belligerently disregards the natural world.

This is an administration that puts economic impacts ahead of species protections. They have sought to end protections for threatened species including those that hinder the fossil fuel industry.

The facts expose the administration's callous disregard for the nation's biodiversity. That is why both Trump and the Department of the Interior actively oppose science. Interior has an important role in conservation as they manage public lands, national parks and wildlife refuges. They are also responsible for conservation efforts including protecting endangered species. Oil industry lobbyist David Bernhardt is the new secretary of the department and in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed he wrote the Endangered Species Act places "unnecessary regulatory burden" on companies.

Bernhardt has amassed a rap-sheet of environmental crimes in the short time he has been at the helm of the cabinet level agency. In February a National Park scientist was dismissed when she refused to remove references to climate change from a report she had written. In March Bernhardt blocked a report by scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service that found popular pesticides "jeopardize the continued existence" of more than 1,200 endangered animals and plants. He then relaxed the rules for pesticides.

In May Bernhardt proposed weakening protections for the highly endangered American burying beetle. He also exempted the oil and gas industry from having to consider its impact on the beetle's habitat in Oklahoma. They argued that the beetle will be rendered extinct by climate change anyway so there is no point in trying to save it. They do not mention the fact that this administration has consistently undermined efforts to combat the climate crisis, nor do they disclose all the ways they have supported increased fossil fuel production.

Bernhardt wants to revise the entire Endangered Species Act to make it harder to put a species on the list and easier to remove them. He is also seeking to weaken habitat protections. 

The Trump administration's ongoing assaults on wildlife are part of a de-regulatory orgy that is imperiling American biodiversity.

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Our Suicidal Genocide Against Nature and the Need for Transformative Change

We are often reminded that the fate of humanity is tied to the fate of other species. A new report is once again emphasizing the interdependence of life on Earth. It tells us that we are destroying biodiversity at a perilous rate. The sixth great extinction threatens life on the planet. While previous extinction events were caused by things like volcanoes and asteroids, the defining feature of this one is that it is being driven by human activity. This suicidal rampage has been dubbed the age of the Anthropocene. A summary of a comprehensive new report warns that unless we make significant changes, we will, "plunge the planet into a nightmarish, downward spiral of conflict, growing inequality and continuing degradation of Nature."

The recent United Nations report was created by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It details the past losses and future prospects for nature and humans. It was created over the course of three years by 150 experts from more than 50 countries. They examined 15,000 sources of information to create the first report of this type since 2005.

Representatives from 132 governments recently met in Paris to take a look at the peer reviewed conclusions in a 44-page Summary for Policymakers. The 1,800-page assessment of scientific literature is the most exhaustive UN report on the state of nature ever produced.

Extinction

Extinction is taking place up to 1000 times faster than the the natural background rate and some projections suggest they will soon be 10,000 times background rates. Every day, we lose up to 150 species and every year, we lose between 18,000 and 55,000 species. In the past 45 years, the number of living mammals, fishes, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have fallen by half. We have identified only one tenth of all life on the planet, think of how many invaluable species may have disappeared without our knowledge.

We are losing clean air, potable water, pristine forests, pollinators and other insects. Both terrestrial and marine life are being decimated. A quarter of known plant and animal species are already threatened. The extinction rate for vertebrates is now 114 times higher than the historical background rate.

Up to one million species are at risk of extinction due to human activities. Habitat loss (deforestation, coral bleaching), climate change, pollution (especially fossil fuel emissions and plastic), over-exploitation, over-consumption, mining, and poaching are pushing our ecosystems past the point of no return. All of these factors are altering the natural world at a rate that is "unprecedented in human history."  These assessments may be even worse as we only know about 10 percent of the estimated 11 million terrestrial species that occupy the Earth.

Three-quarters of the land, almost half of marine environments and half of inland waterways have been "severely" changed by human activity, according to the report. We have cut down half the world's forests and damned more than three quarters of the planet's rivers. We are destroying natural habitats and overtaxing resources on an unprecedented scale.

Much of our harm we are doing is caused by the ways we use the Earth to derive food and energy. Around 40 percent of the planet's land surface is being used for crops and livestock and half of the Earth's accessible fresh water is being used in agricultural irrigation. We have removed more than half of the wild fish from the ocean and we continue to exploit 90 percent of our fisheries beyond their maximum sustainable limits.  Our fossil fuel consumption is the leading cause of climate change and a major source of pollution. Since the 1950s we have increased our use of fossil fuels by more than 550 percent.

A 2016 study indicates that 58 percent of the Earth's land surface has surpassed the "safe" threshold putting these ecosystems in danger of collapse. Although a recent NASA report indicates the Earth is getting greener, much of this is monoculture plantations which are nowhere near as effective in supporting biodiversity when compared to natural forests. The fact is we lost around 12 million hectares of biodiverse forest in the world's tropical regions in 2018.

Suicide

We cannot ignore the horrific injustice we are perpetrating against nature. Nor can we avoid the realization that we are threatening our own survival. We are not only killing species we are destroying biological relationships and undermining the stability of life on Earth.

"The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed," says report co-chair Josef Settele, an entomologist at Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, in a statement. "This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world."

When we destroy nature we are destroying the ecosystem services that it provides. This includes food, medicines, clean air, potable water and healthy soil. It is important to understand just how valuable individual species can be. For example, the loss of mangrove forests and coral reefs will expose 300 million people to increased risk from flooding. Think of what can happen when we eradicate vast swaths of biodiversity.

We are risking far more than just the $24 trillion of non-monetized benefits nature provides to humans each year. We are threatening the survival of many forms of life on the planet, including our own. We are undercutting the very things that we depend upon for our survival. "[T]his report makes clear the links between biodiversity and nature and things like food security and clean water in both rich and poor countries." the IPBES Chair Robert Watson said.

Destroying biodiversity undermines nature's ability to bounce back from extreme events like fires and floods. Nature also provides something arguably even more profound. A sense of wonder, awe, and beauty that can have powerful psychological and spiritual benefit.

"The evidence is incontestable," Watson said. "Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change." 

Immediate action

Although much of the damage is irreparable, there is still time to stave off the worst impacts if we act now. The UN report calls for "transformative changes" to save the natural world and ourselves. It warns that we must rapidly end humanity’s destructive approach to the economy, food production, and energy usage.

As reported by the Guardian, Watson said, "There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations. We are in trouble if we don’t act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development."

Steven Osofsky, a professor of wildlife health and health policy at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and expert on biodiversity, said anyone who does not believe that humans are creating an extinction crisis is "either lying or not paying attention." Although he concedes that the situation is perilous he also said that he has to believe that its not too late.

"[T]here are prospects for hope in bringing together sectors that have historically been antagonistic...From how we feed the world, to how we generate energy, to how we educate the next generation (especially women and girls)," he added, "there are solutions to the pressures currently impacting global biodiversity and the natural systems humanity (perhaps ironically) ultimately depends upon for survival."

We will need to do far more with far less. Importantly government will need to strengthen and enforce environmental laws. We need to take a holistic approach that integrates considerations for biodiversity into every aspect of human endeavor.

"It’s no longer enough to focus just on environmental policy," Sandra M. Díaz is quoted as saying in the New York Times. Diaz is a lead author of the study and an ecologist at the National University of Córdoba in Argentina. "We need to build biodiversity considerations into trade and infrastructure decisions, the way that health or human rights are built into every aspect of social and economic decision-making."

We are facing a social and ecological emergency. We need education, research, preparedness, and prevention. Above all we need to realize that we are part of the ecosystems that we are destroying.   

Human health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet's biodiversity and for better or worse, the fate of life on Earth is in human hands.

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Half of All Wildlife on Earth is Going Extinct
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The State of Our Oceans: We are Headed Towards a Marine Mass Extinction
The Financial Costs of Biodiversity Loss
List of Canadian Animals and Plants that are Extinct or at Risk
Endangered Species

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The Nature Champions Summit and Canada's Biodiversity Conservation Efforts

The Nature Champions Summit (NCS) will take place on April 24-25, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The goal of the NCS is to build a high-ambition coalition to advance global nature protection. This event explores nature conservation efforts and focuses on strategies for mitigating biodiversity loss and maintaining crucial carbon stores. It will address on-the-ground solutions to make biodiversity healthier and more resilient. The summit will specifically highlight Indigenous leadership and the role of various levels of government to forge a new biodiversity conservation agenda.

NCS is being convened by Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna. A March 14th, government of Canada press release announcing NCS points to the growing awareness that we need to do more to protect biodiversity. Canada is second largest nation in the world it is also the country with the largest coastline. The nation's vast forests, massive lakes and long rivers are sewn into the fabric of Canada's national identity.  Through legislation and regulation Canada is working to honor its biodiversity conservation treaty commitments, including the Aichi 2020 targets.

NCS will bring together philanthropists, business leaders, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, Indigenous leaders and environment ministers from around the world. Participants will showcase commitments and develop new partnerships for advancing nature protection.

This event is the first in a series of multilateral meetings focused on building momentum towards 2020, when leaders will come together for the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in China. Nature protection will be a central theme of the forthcoming G7 meeting in France.

Key Themes of the NCS

• Identifying and overcoming barriers to nature protection
• Indigenous partnerships and incorporating Indigenous wisdom in stewardship activities
• The intersection of nature, oceans and climate change
• Innovative financing for nature-based solutions

Carbon storage

Canada's wilderness is not only a place of natural beauty it is also a vast carbon sink. Canadian Carbon storage banks are one of the nation's most significant biodiversity features. Over thousands of years Canadian peatlands, soils, permafrost and trees have stored more than 200 billion tonnes of carbon. This is the equivalent of up to 36 years’ worth of global carbon emissions. The release of sequestered carbon in peatlands and permafrost are serious tipping points that could end any hope of keeping temperatures below the prescribed upper threshold limit of 2.0 Celsius.

Existing strategies in Canada

Protected areas is one of the best strategies we have for conserving biodiversity. In 2013 Environment Canada defined protected areas as, "lands and waters where development and use is restricted by legal or other means for the conservation of nature."

The Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites (AZEs) is a joint NGO initiative that includes 76 members. AZE sites in Canada include efforts to protect the endangered Vancouver Island Marmot (less than 200 left in wild) and the endangered Whooping crane (about 431 left in wild)

Canada is also working on large scale conservation projects that focus on connectivity. This includes the Yukon to Yellowknife (Y to Y) a 1 300 000 km2 stretch of land. Another large transnational conservation project is the Algonquin to Adirondack (A to A)  which encompasesses 93,000 km2 in Ontario, Quebec, and New York. Other connectivity focused conservation projects include the Baja, California to the Bering Sea (B to B) and the Wildlands Network.

Species at risk

Canada's largely intact boreal region supports grizzly bears, wolves and wolverines. Canadian waterways contain healthy populations of salmon and trout and sturgeon. The country is also a temporary home to billions of migrating birds.

However, as in many other parts of the world a wide diversity of species are at risk in Canada. Some of the country’s most iconic animals are under threat. This includes mammals like bison, polar bears and caribou.

Indigenous governments

NCS is focused on the leadership of Indigenous governments and it is being held in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.  In Canada First Nations People play an increasingly important role complimenting science and enhancing Canada's conservation efforts. This is a stewardship vision that balances protection and development. NCS is a reflection of Canada's recognition of the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

TEK is defined as, "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings … with one another and with their environment" (Berkes et al. 2000, p.1252).

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), recognizes traditional ecological knowledge and TEK is found in Article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is also contained in Canadian legislation including the Fisheries act.

Canadian biodiversity preservation legislation

 

• Canadian Wildlife Act (1985)
• Plant Protection Act (1990)
• Health of Animals act (1990)
• Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA; 1992)
• Migratory Bird Convention Act (1994)
• National Marine Conservation Areas Act (2002)
• Fisheries act (1985, 2012, 2018)
• National Parks Act (2000)
• Species at Risk Act (SARA, 2002) 
• Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012)

 

International biodiversity treaties that Canada is committed to

 

• International Plant Protection Convention (1952)
• International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2004)
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1975)
• CITIES: Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Fora (1975)
• CBD: Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
• NA Migratory Bird Treaty (1916)
• North American Bird Conservation Initiative (1998)

 

Canada's achievements

Through a combination of easements, covenants, servitudes, funding programs, as well as multilateral and bilateral efforts Canada has made progress in its efforts to protect land and conserve species. Canada has 39 national parks, 8 reserves, and 4 marine conservation areas. Under Ramsar Convention on Wetlands  Canada has protected 37 Wetlands of International Importance, comprising around 13 million ha, which is second in area only to Bolivia.

The Canadian federal government has invested over $1.3 billion over five years in biodiversity protection. Canada has made progress towards the Aichi 2020 Targets through its Pathway to Target 1 efforts. Thus far Canada has protected 7.75 percent of it's marine habitat which is close to the 10 percent Aichi target and 11 percent of terrestrial objectives. However, this is 6 points below the Aichi target of 17 percent.

Canada will nearly double protected areas by 2020 in order to reach the goals it is committed to under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Reaching that goal will be cause for celebration and NCS is a helpful part of the process.

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