Carbon War Room: Business Tackles Climate Change

In my view, the only way we're going to stop climate change is with business leading the way.

The scientists have pointed out the problem, the environmentalists have raised it's profile, the politicians may (or may not) provide the incentives, but it's private businesses who have got to come up with the practical solutions. And if they can't see a profit in it, they won't bother.

So it's encouraging to see a website like Carbon War Room. Run by business people, for business people, aimed at working out ways to beat climate change whilst making a profit. One of it's founders, Richard Branson of Virgin, puts it like this:

"Over 50% of the climate change challenge can be addressed today – and profitably – by existing technologies, under existing policy. This is an opportunity marked as a crisis – arguably the largest wealth creation opportunity of our lifetime. Carbon War Room works on breaking down market barriers for capital to flow to entrepreneurial solutions to climate change, by employing a sector-based approach focusing on the solutions that make economic sense right now. "

The website is fascinating, with plenty of information on climate change, and the barriers that need to be broken down. They also have 3 major global projects underway:

• Operation Shipping Efficiency: Working to bring down emissions from shipping by showing how efficiencies can made using existing technology, leading to reduced costs.

• Operation Green Capital: Aims to make new buildings and existing housing stock more energy efficient.

• Renewable Fuels and Aviation: To get biofuels scaled up to protect us from oil price shocks and dramatically cut CO2 emissions.

Companies are lining up to take advantage of the business opportunities that will inevitably come up when the World finally commits to tackling climate change. It's an exciting prospect. I just wish we'd get on with it.