Reducing the risk posed by climate change is economically and technically achievable, according to the Risky Business Project.
The project is led by American business leaders such as Henry Paulson, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs CEO; Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire founder of the securities data-news firm; and Greg Page, the retired CEO of global agribusiness giant Cargill. Their findings, based on scientific and economic research, is that climate change poses tremendous risk to American agriculture, business and citizens. The solution is to rapidly adapt and transition to a low-carbon, clean-energy economy that also would boost jobs and the economy.
"Transforming the U.S. economy to rely on low-carbon, clean energy would be a massive undertaking, but this report shows we can achieve this vision with existing technologies," the inaugural report said in 2014.
The United States has started to make progress. It concluded that an average of $320 billion a year in private-sector investment is needed through 2050 to build a clean-energy economy and achieve the emissions reductions necessary to avoid the worst economic impacts of climate change.
These investments would be similar in scale to other major investments made by business, including in technology at $350 billion per year over the past decade. They could eventually yield on average up to $366 billion in savings per year from reductions in spending on fossil fuels. The country would gain more than 1 million "new jobs" by 2030. About 270,000 jobs would be lost in the coal and oil industries.
There also will be health benefits from less pollution. Page said the evidence indicates climate scientists are right and there is challenge and opportunity ahead.
Q: Why is transitioning to a low-carbon economy important?
A: We should start immediately to make prudent investments that substitute capital for carbon dioxide. It's sensible. The benefits of these investments compound over time. For agriculture, we must work on adaptation, research in higher-temperature pollination, drought resistance and increasing soil health and its water-holding capacity. This is critical to global food security.