One of the conclusions of the climate change conference in Copenhagen is that the time to act is more urgent than ever. “Inaction is inexcusable.” Sir Nicolas Stern clearly described that we CAN afford a low carbon economy. But the costs of action will increase with every year of inaction.

Action is rather attractive, Lord Stern commented, as it is a great opportunity to improve our economy towards a low-carbon economy by adding new jobs, and at the same time laying the foundations for a new era of a sustainable future.

So what should we invest the money in? Well, we all know that. We need to heavily invest in renewable technologies that already exist. But we must not forget to ensure a just distribution of these technologies to the developing world.

Poverty and climate change are deeply interconnected. If we fail in fighting one of these problems, we will also fail to solve the other problem, so Lord Stern.  We therefore have not just an obligation and responsibility to help the developing world. But it is essential to avoid a climatic catatstrophe.

Let’s hope that Copenhagen will be the turning point in how the world understands the urgency and opportunity of climate change. Luckily, social changes can be much faster than anybody can predict. So there IS hope. Just let’s get started at a much faster pace. Today, and on every level of societies in every part of the world. We are all in this together.

Maiken Winter

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