Seizing the Global Opportunity: Partnerships for Better Growth and a Better Climate

It's clear that climate fatalists are wrong to suggest that we cannot afford to act. The reality is we cannot afford not to. In addition, there are growing examples that show why climate action is in the United States' economic interest, write David Vogel and Helen Mountford.

At Abu Dhabi Ascent, a high-level meeting hosted by the United Arab Emirates to generate momentum for the Climate Summit at the UN, Felipe Calderon urged participants to pursue economic action on climate change.

Five new studies provide real-world examples of how to achieve better patterns of urbanisation and highlight how cities can grow their economies while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Graham Floater, director of cities research for the Global Commission, "a new breed of cities is emerging with compact, connected development – innovative cities that are more productive, attractive and low carbon."

London/Washington, DC, May 8, 2015: Historically unpredictable and changing oil prices are hurting the economy, but today’s cheap oil offers a unique opportunity to reduce our fossil fuel addiction and invest in more sustainable and predictable renewable energy sources – says a new report by Lord Nicholas Stern and colleagues in the New Climate Economy project.

A new paper by the New Climate Economy identifies the lessons learned from past attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies, explores why progress has been slow, and outlines the principles for successful reform.

On October 6, 2016, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate will launch it's third major report, The Sustainable Infrastructure Imperative: Financing for Better Growth and Develop

Governments and international institutions must help companies and cities accelerate this green transition, writes Naina Lal Kidwai.

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate will be launched on September 24th 2013 in New York. Former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón, Chair of the Commission, will speak at the launch meeting, which will take place just before the opening of the UN General Assembly and during ‘Climate Week’ in New York City. Other speakers include:

President Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Norway
Lena Ek, Minister for the Environment, Sweden
Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Minister and head of the President’s Delivery Unit, Indonesia
Rt. Hon. Gregory Barker, Minister for Energy and Climate Change, UK
Boonam Shin, Ambassador for Climate Change, Republic of Korea
Jeremy Oppenheim, Director of the New Climate Economy project

In April and May, individuals involved with the New Climate Economy project appeared in multiple news sources.

Before the 2014 UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, Felipe Calderon issued a statement saying that "Leaders gathering in Lima have as an opportunity to build stronger economies and to send a clear signal to businesses and investors.”

20 May 2015: “When the future of the planet is at stake, there are no political frontiers, barriers or walls behind which we can hide to protect ourselves from the effects of environmental and social degradation. There is no room for the globalisation of indifference, the economy of exclusion or the throwaway culture so often denounced by Pope Francis. Of course, the path is not easy, since this ethical and moral responsibility calls into question the resetting of the development model, requiring a major political and economic commitment. However, as I said to the UN Climate Summit on 23 September 2014, 'the technological and operational bases needed to facilitate this mutual responsibility are already available or within our reach. We have the capacity to start and strengthen a true and beneficial process which will irrigate, as it were, through adaptation and mitigation activities, the field of economic and technological innovation where it is possible to cultivate two interconnected objectives: combating poverty and easing the effects of climate change'."

Fossil fuel subsidies take up a huge chunk of countries’ budgets and the world’s GDP.

In light of the news that the Paris Agreement has achieved enough ratifications to trigger entry into force in 30 days, Felipe Calderón, former Pr