Status: Increasing uncertainty, declining expectations and optimism

The evidence is there - for at least two decades now scientists and experts have provided an enormous wealth of eye-opening (and terrifying) facts that all point to the urgent need to change the way the world runs. This, they argue, is the only way to help preserve the fragile environment in which we live. Globally speaking, carbon emissions are constantly increasing. Per year, the world releases 48 gigatons of carbon dioxide. Leading experts and scientists in the field underline the urgency of a noticeable carbon reduction: In 2020 the overall carbon emission must be reduced to at least 44 gigatons.

Declining expectations 
The opening remarks were made by Christiana Figueres / UNFCC, and never has a welcoming speech from this field been so direct. Due to the lack of global negation in Copenhagen during COP15, the expectations of COP16 in Cancún are much more subdued. This isn´t to say their aren´t ambitious. Rather, the goals of COP16 appear to be more thought through and adapted to the current global environmental and financial situation. In the broadest sense - we seem to be stuck in the Kyoto protocol - lacking the right strategies and a collective framework from where the world community and global businesses can move forward and beyond the pressing climate issue and shifting energy system.

East is running fast

The Asian development is both the biggest threat and the biggest opportunity to European and American clean tech solutions. China especially is running fast – really fast - regarding the implementation of green technologies. On one side this could be perceived as a threat to the Western developed countries, especially if they fail to get up to speed in the competition. However, EU and the U.S. seem to understand the potential of the Asian markets for “clean” “green” tech, competing intelligently with innovative solutions – as well as cooperating and negotiating – we might see extraordinary green growth. Still several experts predict that the future belongs to the far Eastern countries.

Moving forward together
Christiana made three recommendations, that address the climate debate in general and the future Green businesses in particular:
1. The value chain must be emphasized and communicated all the way from the industry, over the actual product and to the consumer. 2. Investments must be made in pioneering technologies. 3. Countries ought to reconsider and rearrange the political organ by bringing both public and private interests closer together through informal public-private dialogs and more formal partnerships.

Optimism
Today’s welcoming speech was driven by an overall notion of what we could call, “green complexity”, regarding the complex connection and disconnections between speed, scale, and span of climate change and the simultaneously increasing notion of uncertainty in the global community. Yet, several questions still remain unanswered, and hopefully this World Climate Summit in Cancún will spell out the framework that Copenhagen was aiming for, yet hardly accomplished. Where do the negotiations stand right now due to the failure of COP15 in Copenhagen? How can businesses inform them? And what is the scale of the challenge, and more importantly what is the opportunity?