James Connaughton believes the answer to rising global temperatures is not setting national limits for CO2 emissions, but rather to develop new technologies instead. That is his opinion, and it tends to go against the majority, but the problem is, this man is the US president’s senior environmental advisor. So what he says pretty much becomes US government policy. Mr Connaughton was speaking in Beijing ahead of a climate summit arranged by president Bush. He said “The emerging consensus is that the solution to climate change is the advancement of technology…and there is also consensus that you need growing economies to pay for that technology. These are not a trade-off: if you don't have a growing economy, you don't have the resources to pay for the new new technologies."
Sounds like Mr Connaughton is making a strong case for allowing countries to develop their economies as fast as they want to with little regard for CO2 emissions in the hope that at some point in the future new technologies will come along and save us. That’s a great plan, I think it ranks right along the ‘lets bury our heads in the sand plan’. In the mean time the rest of us can do our bit to reduce our own CO2 emissions as much as possible, just in case the new technologies can’t save us.
From: BEST OF 2008: Eco-friendy and sustainable shoes