Saving the environment deemed profitable

BUSINESSES should get behind the climate change issue, as measures to cut carbon emissions can be profitable too, former United States Vice-President Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr. said in a forum in Manila yesterday.

The climate protection advocate delivered a spiel similar to that in his 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” this time tailoring it to his Filipino audience by highlighting the threat of stronger typhoons caused by global warming, the consequences of population growth and the potential of renewable energy.

Some 4,000 turned up to hear Mr. Gore speak and field questions for roughly two hours at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay Ciy, including President Gloria M. Arroyo.

“I’m here to ask you to be part of the solution,” Mr. Gore said, standing in front of a picture of the planet Earth taken from space, thus echoing a similar opening in the documentary.

The film bagged two Oscars but has also been criticized for inaccuracies.

“Let me gently challenge the premise that ways of saving the environment are expensive,” Mr. Gore said later into his speech.

“Many business leaders are now saying, ’Let us get on with it.’ There are ways to be profitable… A lot of the most effective ways of saving the environment save money,” he said.

He pointed to the impact of global warming on weather patterns, citing reports that warmer oceans are resulting in more numbers of stronger hurricanes and larger volumes of rainfall. “That’s why we’re getting stronger ocean-based storms… You had a series of giant typhoons. It was just a horrible situation you had to endure,” he said flashing photos of flood-stricken Luzon which was hit by tropical storm Ondoy late last year.

Mr. Gore’s warnings over the impact of global warming, caused by carbon emissions into the atmosphere, then stretched over to the extinction of animal species, the proliferation of disease and the destruction of infrastructure.

One of the culprits, he said, was population growth. “Our collective impact on the planet is much larger now. [And] most of the growth is in developing countries,” Mr. Gore said.

Earlier reports, however, cited a World Resources Institute study which found that while the Philippines is the 12th most populous nation, it accounts for just 0.3% of global carbon emissions.

Mr. Gore went on to blame the surging volumes of carbon emissions on the revolution in science and technology which has allowed man to exploit natural resources at a larger scale and society’s general passivity towards the problem.

“But we have the solutions: renewable energy sources,” Mr. Gore said, brightening.

“The Philippines is beginning to become a leader in this technology,” he said, noting that the Philippines is second in the world after the US in terms of harnessing geothermal power.

“In order to make this work, the one thing to do is to put a price on carbon. If we start measuring the cost, we can start paying attention to other sources of power [that emit less carbon dioxide],” Mr. Gore said.

Sought for comment, University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno backed Mr. Gore’s message on addressing climate change, but warned that the Philippines “shouldn’t be so obsessed with pro-environment policies if they will retard growth in the domestic economy.”

Referring to currently costly environmental technologies, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Francis C. Chua noted that while environmental thrusts are laudable, government has to “make things affordable for consumers.”  –JESSICA ANNE D. HERMOSA, Reporter, Businessworld