Renewable Energy and The World Resources Institute
Robin Murphy, Vice President for External Relations at the World Resources Institute (WRI) was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me yesterday. He explained one of the key missions of this 27 year-old organization: to provide policy-makers and business leaders with objective, high-quality research and advice on environmental issues. What I found most interesting in our talk was his belief that the world – at the top levels of both the public and private sectors – is awakening to a new day of environmental stewardship. As readers know, I waver on this issue, and I may have shocked my guest with my initial skepticism.
Yet, as we talked, I began to see this from his perspective; I was able to gain a position of appreciation for the work that is being done, and develop a reasonable hope that we are, in fact, on the right track. Robin brought me through WRI’s approach over the last decade, which, in a sentence or two, goes like this: After a variety of projects in the 80s and 90s, the organization spent the years of the Bush Administration patiently waiting, not wasting its manpower, focusing mainly on the state governments and business communities during this dormant period at the federal level. Robin told me, “We let good ideas incubate,” while developing a sense for how the world of energy might go forward under more progressive national leadership.
And now the time has come. “I see a new awakening,” says Murphy. “The USCAP (Climate Action Partnership) is a great example of this. Here you have huge, diverse corporations working hard and with total sincerity. This isn’t easy, but they’re doing it. There are tough decisions that have to be made, and there is an abiding sense that the environment is an issue that is here to stay.”
I asked Robin for signs by which we can differentiate between real change from lip service.
“Oh, I’ve seen a great deal of candor – for instance, Duke Energy and Alstom both quit the American Coalition for Clean Coal because they didn’t see this as legitimate. There is huge, tangible change,” he explained. “Business decisions are being delayed and rerouted, as CEOs see legislation and regulation affecting the way they do business.”
“But what do you see driving this?” I asked.
“Is the change altruistic, you mean? Not now; it’s capitalistic. But I also see the worlds of sustainability and commerce converging, as companies find cost-effective ways to change their business practices in the direction of sustainability.”
I told Robin that I’d love to believe this, though I am challenged to take it at face value.
“All I can tell you is that it’s very gratifying to see CAP holding together,” he explained. “It gives me a very good feeling.”
You can ask me what I think on this tomorrow, and I may give you a different answer. But today, I believe that, regardless of the motive, we are all on a rocket-ride toward environmental sensitivity. There are too many people paying attention now for this to go in the wrong direction. And, as Robin pointed out, the costs of renewables are coming down, and the enormous costs of not shifting are becoming more clear. Soon, even those who see this purely as a business issue will be on board.
