Climate-KIC head calls for immediate climate change action
The head of Climate-KIC has called for immediate action in response to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report on climate change.
Bertrand van Ee, chief executive of Climate-KIC, said that Europe will face the pressure of climate change like any other region of the world and a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions was drastically needed.
“Let’s not avoid the reality here, it’s time for action,” van Ee said. “Europe is not immune to the impact of climate change – we need to take collective action now to reduce CO2 emissions. We must mitigate the impact of climate change, or many of us are going to experience catastrophic events in our own lifetimes.
“The impacts are going to be greatest in our cities and urban areas, where three quarters of Europeans live. Don’t forget, the IPCC makes it very clear that some of Europe’s most historic and beautiful cities are going to suffer from pollution, flooding, and food and water shortages.”
The leader of Europe’s largest public private innovation partnership focusing on mitigating and adapting to climate change said collective action was and drew attention to the recent 2030 deal as an example of such efforts. Van Ee said new models of economics growth needed to be implemented.
“Because these impacts are going to be specific to each living environment, a co-ordinated response is now essential, however difficult to achieve. The EU’s recent agreement to cut carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2030, is part of the solution, but what’s needed now is concerted collective action,” continued van Ee.
“Climate change is an unprecedented challenge, but also a great opportunity. We see collaboration increasing rapidly – partnerships between businesses, between industries and between the public and private sectors. We can no longer assume that we can make our 20th Century economic models greener. Instead, we need to create new models that deliver sustainable jobs and bring down CO2 levels, by focusing on long, not short term value. It is only in this way that we will be able to combine the aims of environmental and economic prosperity.
“Climate-KIC is urging businesses to seize opportunities to develop the climate change innovations of the future. Together we can explore the potential for far greater collaboration with public, academic and non-governmental bodies. Together we can promote the high-level skills needed for the world’s next, low carbon, economy and create jobs for generations to come.”
