US Senate and business ramp up climate change action
The US Congress is voting on a climate change bill soon and recent moves by large US companies such as Wal-Mart and GE Electric are moving to cut greenhouse emissions.
This is great news because climate change has largely been ignored by US governments and businesses until recently. Jonathan Lash from the World Resources Institute told a conference in Brisbane today that the issue is gaining ground in the US Government.
If a current bill is passed by the US Senate, the Climate Security Act (ACSA) would aim to reduce total US greenhouse emissions by 19% below the 2005 level in 2020 and by 63% below the 2005 level in 2050. The bill would do this by mandating caps on greenhouse emissions from the electric power, transportation, and manufacturing industries. The scheme would involve about 75% of the US economy.
Lash said action on climate change would also need to involve business, and moves by US companies such as retail giant Wal-Mart and utility and infrastructure company GE Electric to cut greenhouse emissions demonstrate a willingness on behalf of some businesses to tackle the issue.
This is fantastic news. My observation however is that while large businesses are aware of the need to minimise their risks from climate change, and some are being very proactive, small business is still ignoring the problem.
Small business is overwhelmed in many cases and hoping that their “little bit” will go away. Unfortunately there are a lot little bits and they add up. I work with small to medium businesses helping them to green their business and increase their profits at the same time – yes it can be done and it is easy.
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