At the heart of these clean-tech initiatives is the simpleidea that change happens - and happens quickly -when governments, businesses and communities cansee and understand its benefits. This observation hasimportant implications for the UN negotiations.Looking back, it now seems clear that many negotiatorsand political leaders arrived in Copenhagen eitherunaware or unconvinced that the technology and policytools existed for unleashing the clean revolution. If theyhad, then perhaps it would be a Protocol rather than anAccord, which we associate with Copenhagen today. Embedding positive and effective change is not aspontaneous process, however. Switching a city'soutdoor lighting over to more efficient LED systems,does not happen overnight. Similarly, making buildingsmore energy efficient through intelligent controlsystems requires more than a few smart meters. Theseare challenges that require close government-businesspartnerships, so that the right policy frameworks andregulations are put in place to incentivise the rightbehaviour by businesses and consumers.INNOVATION 058TECHNOLOGYBelow, left:Steve HowardRight:Research anddevelopment on solarenergy at INES, FranceLarge scale deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) is acase in point. Making this market transformation happenis not simply a case of a few extra Nissan Leafs or ChevyVolts in suburban garages. It also requires nationalgovernments to develop smart grids; local governmentsand utilities to provide public charging points; engineersto design and build the supporting infrastructure; banksto provide innovative financing arrangements for new EVbusiness models; and fleet operators to purchase EVs atscale. The Climate Group's electric vehicles initiative,known as "EV20", is designed to bring these keystakeholders together to make this kind of changehappen. Comprising twenty leaders in the sector,including city and state governments, vehiclemanufacturers, financiers and fleet operators, the aim ofthe initiative is to deliver an extra one million electricvehicles to market globally by 2020. Bottom-up, action-orientated projects such as EV20 andothers will be critical in the next few years to demonstrateand accelerate the clean-tech revolution. As countriesnegotiate their way hesitantly to a global deal, they should

and business leaders must tackle environmental andeconomic challenges together to cut emissions, createnew jobs and build a prosperous, clean, green economy.Since 2003, The Climate Group has been one of theworld's most powerful international coalitions ofbusiness and government leaders committed toadvancing the low-carbon policies and technologiesnecessary to make deep cuts in global emissions.Most recently, he led a joint initiative with former UKPrime Minister Tony Blair to accelerate politicalmomentum required for international agreement on aglobal climate deal. He is a member of Vantage PointVenture Partners Advisory Board, a member of theWorld Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council onClimate Change, a judge of the Virgin Earth Challengeand an Advisor to the Planetary Skin Institute. Beforefounding The Climate Group, he spent 15 yearsworking with major corporations, NGOs and UNbodies on the environment. He has been recognisedby Time Magazine and Scientific American for hisleadership on climate change and was an Ernst andYoung 2009 Entrepreneur of the year.INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY059© European Union, 2010look to the smart cities, regions and corporates engaged inthese projects for inspiration on ambitious climate action.These governments and businesses are creating themarket-transformation needed to end our dependence onunsustainable, carbon-intensive energy. There is still atremendous amount to be done. But these climatechampions are helping to deliver the clean revolution anda better, more prosperous world for future generations. nThe Climate Group will host the 5th annual ClimateLeaders Summit at COP16 in Cancún. The summit is aforum for the exchange of practical policy advice betweenstate and regional government leaders, as well as CEOs ofsome of the world's leading low carbon technologycompanies, financial institutions, and corporates.ABOUT THE AUTHORDr Steve Howard is the Founder and CEO of aninternational NGO The Climate Group. He is a leadingauthority on climate change and believes politicians