Editors' Note
| Author | Melanie Nakagawa/Kirk Herbertson |
| Position | Editors-In-Chief |
| Pages | 01 |
Page 1
We must have faith in our craft. After all, it has brought us this far in safety. What's ahead isn't doom, its just a little hump that we can clear if we all just pedal a little harder. Then we'll soar into a glorious, endless future...But your craft isn't going to save you. Quite the contrary, it's your craft that's carrying you toward catastrophe.
DANIEL QUINN, ISHMAEL 109 (Bantam/Turner Book 1992).
This quote serves as a descriptive explanation of a commonly expressed perspective towards climate change and its impact-the notion that as a civilization we are traveling at an incredible rate towards an environmental catastrophe-while some of the most influential players are ignorantly discounting the warning signs based on a blind faith that with extra effort any obstacle can be overcome. Predictions regarding the effects of climate change are often filled with discouraging rhetoric forecasting sea level rise, climatic extremes, and massive species extinction. But despite the internationally recognized and accepted empirical evidence of global warming, the current United States Administration steers away from substantively addressing these issues.
This spring, the editors-in-chief chose "Business Responses to Climate Change" as the theme for Sustainable Development Law & Policy, because we want to share the success stories in the arena of climate change, specifically addressing an integral and influential player, the business community. Despite the grim forecasts for our future environment, the conversation on climate change does not have to be a recitation of pessimistic outcomes, but rather one filled with optimism and possibilities for improvement.
There are increasing efforts by governments, civil society, the international community, and more recently the private sector to combat climate change and its future impact. Historically, the private sector remained outside the debate on global warming. Recently, however, the private sector has entered this conversation because profit margins, insurance rates, and corporate liability and risk are influenced by climate change. For example, major corporations face the threat of liability, subsequent litigation, or higher insurance premiums as insurance companies encourage and at times require their insurees to reduce their risk of climate litigation.
There are already identifiable business responses to climate change, a handful recognized in this publication. The future impact of these business community efforts is likely to include greater participation in emission trading schemes, corporate self-auditing and monitoring of climate impact, recognition of climate change as a profitable energy-saving incentive, and opportunities for technological advancements.
We hope our publication helps illustrate the silver lining surrounding the often cited dismal "climate science" by identifying the multitude of opportunities for corporations to take the lead in substantively addressing climate change.
