Cleantech Group report: COP15 doesn’t matter

The outcome of the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP15) next month in Copenhagen isn't expected to be meaningful for the cleantech sector in the near term, according to a new report.

As published by the Cleantech Group, the COP15 talks, which will try to establish a global action plan for mitigating carbon emissions, are expected to have a positive impact on the global clean technology sector even without a comprehensive global agreement necessarily being reached (see A Copenhagen call to action).

"The most meaningful climate initiatives of late driving cleantech innovation have been driven at the level of the G20, the U.S.-led MEF and the G2 (China and America). The center of gravity is not the bureaucratic UNFCCC," said Cleantech Group executive editor Dallas Kachan.

The report includes an analysis of leading countries' negotiating positions and recommendations on what needs to happen to make a climate accord truly meaningful. It asserts that private funds will flow in 2010 regardless of whether an agreement is reached and that, in the short term, government stimulus funds are expected to continue to shape the markets in positive and negative ways.

It also suggests an agreement at Copenhagen will be thwarted by America’s lack of ability to make meaningful climate change progress domestically thus far, and possibly by brinksmanship by China.

The authors conclude that industry leaders shouldn’t be watching COP15 for an agreement to accelerate demand for cleantech products and services, predicting that history will show it as yet another milestone on the road to an agreement. Instead, the conference will help to drive global awareness, which is expected to drive broader demand.

Some Cleantech CEOs say they are looking for a successful deal at Copenhagen to open opportunities in the “green economy” (see Inside cleantech India: Kal, Aaj aur Kal!).

The Cleantech Group’s full report can be downloaded for free by members of its Cleantech Network here.

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