" "FOR TOO LONGNEGOTIATIONSHAVE FOCUSED ON THE COSTSRATHER THAN THEOPPORTUNITIESTHAT ARISE FROMAMBITIOUS CLIMATE ACTIONClean Revolution is quietly underwayaround the world. In boardrooms andcabinet offices, farsighted business andpolitical leaders are taking steps totransform the way their organisations and economiesoperate. Whether for strategic, financial, or societalreasons progressive leaders of all stripes arechanging the way they produce and consume energyand natural resources. One word sums up all thisactivity: opportunity. As climate officials prepare for this year's UN climateconference in Durban, South Africa, opportunityshould also be front and centre of their minds. For toolong negotiations have focused on the costs ratherthan the opportunities that arise from ambitiousclimate action. Countries of all types have sought tominimise any potential commitments in the mistakenassumption that economic development anddecarbonisation are somehow mutually exclusivegoals. Such thinking needs to change and a CleanRevolution embraced.BUT WHAT PRECISELY IS THE CLEANREVOLUTION?In short, it is the swift and massive scaling-up of cleantechnologies and infrastructure, combined with afundamental shift to sustainable production andconsumption patterns. It is the only viable route to cutglobal emissions and avoid dangerous climate change.It can create jobs and strengthen economic growth. Itis a revolution driven by leadership and a belief in abetter, more prosperous future for all. By 2050 it willcreate a world where the planet's 9 billion inhabitantsnot only live, but thrive. In many ways the CleanRevolution is as much evolution as revolution. Wealready have, for example, many of the technologiesand policies to make the necessary changes.Renewable technologies such as wind and solar, whichwere seen as marginal energy sources even five yearsago, are now cost competitive with fossil fuels in manymarkets. The same transformation is almost certain tooccur with marine energy over the coming decade.Electric vehicles are also poised to becomemainstream, with smart electricity grids beingincreasingly developed to support this transportrevolution and other smart energy efficiency measures.The policy levers are also well known and increasinglyin place. A price on carbon, either implicit or explicit,is in effect, or soon will be, in Europe, China, Japan,Australia and key parts of the US. Feed-in-tariffs havedriven a dramatic expansion of solar energy in Europe- and are in place or being considered in as many as30 developing countries -and an astonishingreduction in per unit cost as China's manufacturingmuscle has done its thing. Recent announcementsfrom both China and Japan that they too will introduceFiTs, suggests that further cost reductions are likely.Commitments to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies havealso been made. If implemented fully, this couldrelease up to US$500 billion per annum to support theexpansion of clean rather than dirty energy. Regulatory reform is almost set to make animportant impact. In the UK, for example,the 'split-incentives' problem, whichhas hampered the introduction ofenergy efficiency measures inhomes and buildings, is setto be addressed. The"Green Deal" policy willallow property ownersto implement energyRight:Mark Kenber, CEOof The Climate GroupTHECLEAN REVOLUTIONISHERE058INNOVATION TECHNOLOGYMARK KENBER, CEO, THE CLIMATE GROUPA

INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY059saving measures for no upfront cost. Repayments to theinstaller are made through savings in the electricity bill.This policy is expected to radically transformthe energyefficiency of the UK's building stock and play a majorrole in achieving the country's short and long-termemission reduction targets. Crucially, this is a policythat is applicable to many countries - both developedand developing.There are a number of lessons from all this fornegotiators in Durban. First, there is much to beinspired by and draw confidence from when seeking toraise the level of ambition amongst countries. Second,taking action at the national level doesn't depend onfirst making progress at the international level -effective global action demands both top-down andbottom-up effort. And finally, leadership matters. It isthis last point upon which the success of the CleanRevolution is likely to hinge. Without leadership from both individuals and organisations, thedecarbonisation of our global economy will not happenat the pace and scale that we need.The good news is that there are leaders out there alreadywho are showing the way. Take Scotland for example.The Scottish government has adopted the world's mostambitious emission reduction targets (42 per cent cutby 2020 relative to 1990) and is committed toproducing 100 per cent of electricity consumed inScotland from renewable sources by 2020. WhileScotland is naturally blessed with Europe's mostabundant renewable energy resources, these would haveremained underexploited without the leadership shownby the Scottish Executive and parliament in passing thenecessary enabling legislation. Political leadership has also demonstrated what canbe achieved in difficult circumstances. California isperhaps the best known example of a sub-nationalgovernment that has implemented progressiveclimate and energy policies in the face of climatedeadlock at the national-level. South Australia isanother example. This small regional state (population 1.5 million) hasover the past 10 years positioned itself as thedestination of choice for clean energy investment anddeployment in Australia. The region now has thehighest per capita penetration of wind energy in the