On Taking Climate Action, Even Wall Street Asks: 'Why Would You Not?

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/08/31/taking-climate-action-even-wall-street-asks-why-would-you-not

Given the economic, environmental, and public health benefits of transitioning to a low-carbon future, a new report from Citigroup asks: When presented with the opportunity to take action on climate change, "Why would you not?"

"While fossil reserves aren’t running out, our ability to burn them without limit may be," reads the report from America's third-largest bank, "due to the fact that atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and equivalents are rapidly approaching the so-called 'carbon budget'—the level that if we go beyond is likely to lead to global warming in excess of the important 2°C level."

Fortunately, the report finds that taking action to cut carbon pollution and slow global warming by investing in energy efficiency and renewable power generation would result in a positive return on investment, ultimately saving trillions of dollars.

In fact, in its analysis of two scenarios—'Inaction,' which involves continuing on a business-as-usual path, and 'Action,' which involves transitioning to a low-carbon energy mix—Citigroup found that because of savings due to reduced fuel costs and increased energy efficiency, the Action scenario is actually slightly cheaper than the Inaction scenario. The report predicts that following a low carbon path would incur a net cost per year until 2025, after which net savings would stem from via lower fuel usage.

And down the line, a low carbon energy mix could account for $30-50 trillion in savings from avoiding climate damage, the report states.