I was recently in America. It\u2019s a country I love but it was depressing. All the energy for legislating on climate change has drained away. Those once leading the debate are now silent, the deniers have turned up the volume. The Administration has stalled on this vital subject. The President said in his State of the Union speech \u201cthe nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy\u201d\u009d. If that\u2019s true (and I believe it is) then America has already begun to cede its premier place in the world economy.<\/p>\n
The Chinese are already talking about the economic downturn as \u201cthe North Atlantic Crisis\u201d\u009d. And according to the Pew Centre Research \u201cChina is emerging as the world\u2019s cleanest energy powerhouse\u201d\u009d. It has already become the world\u2019s leading investor in renewables aiming for 15% of its energy to be generated through renewables by 2020. It has designated 5 provinces and 8 cities as China\u2019s Low Carbon Pilots, representing 350 million people, 27% of the population and one third of the economy. The centre of gravity is shifting from West to East not just for the World Economy but for the Green Economy.<\/p>\n
Future historians will ponder long and hard on why the North Atlantic nations fell so easily on their swords and pressed the self-destruct button.<\/p>\n