Interest growing in clean energy

Published: 28 Jan 2010
Raphael John-Lall

T&T is ignoring the tremendous business opportunities involved in using renewable and cleaner energy sources, says Christine Ervin, chief executive of the US Green Building Council and former US assistant secretary of Energy. “Climate change is driving in and it is ushering a new era towards sustainable economies. “We have depleted our capacity to use fossil fuels as we have in the past. Fossil fuels are pervasive in our economies. There are no silver bullets. But there are hundreds and thousands of business opportunities arising to address that scarcity. The search is on and smart money is looking for ways to use less energy.”

Ervin made this comment during the second day of presentations at the T&T Energy Conference 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain. “A few years go the United Nations’ Millennium Assessment found that two thirds of the world’s ecosystems were already in decline. “As the world Business Council on sustainable development explained these are systems that provide the building blocks of life and commerce, food water, materials.” She said firms are looking at new ways of doing business. “A number of businesses are looking at an integrated approach to operations that’s more effective and powerful than addressing their problems one at a time. For example, in the United States 15 per cent of our electricity is for water purification. So climate change is one of the leading drivers, ushering in the new era. It is also ushering in new waves of innovation with energy efficiency playing a key role.” Building Sector She pointed out that there are many new things happening in the building sector that utilises cleaner ways of doing business. “Some of the most important innovation is occurring in the building sector that is responsible for generating more greenhouse gas emissions than any other. The energy that it uses is in its operations and energy embedded in its materials. “Today you will find any number of green buildings often certified by the US Green Building Council, a global organisation with a chapter in the Caribbean.There are now high performance schools, hospitals, many of the features of these buildings boost labour productivity. Many young people want to work in these sectors.” She gave many examples of different industries that are now environmentally friendly. “A big issue in the hospitality sector now is green tourism. Then there are museums, ball parks and airports that are now embracing the concepts. In the last two years many industries, developers and building owners have turned to green building as a life line in a down economy. The whole risk equation has flipped. Years ago, many might have thought it risky to put up buildings like this, today it is considered risky to put up a building that is not.” She said even insurance companies are getting into the green business. “Several insurance companies are offering lower premiums to encourage high performance new buildings.” Also she said that venture capital firms now see that there is money to be made in this area. “You could not get venture capital firms investing in energy efficiency two or three years ago. The rate of return just was not fast enough, now it is one of the hottest items for venture capital firms. “The firms that are providing these energy management services are skyrocketing. In my hometown of Portland, Oregon, a small firm there with good expertise has grown by providing services nationally and even in places like Jamaica.” Commenting on the talks in Copenhagen last December, she said there were some breakthroughs. “I do believe that some important new agreements were put in place and that would lead to some important progress. Even government is getting involved and is beginning to push for more environmentally friendly projects. President Obama also sees carbon productivity as a key to American competitiveness and jobs.” Source: http://guardian.co.tt/business/business-guardian/2010/01/28/interest-growing-clean-energy