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"bridges" Lecture Series 2011: But Will the Planet Notice? Why Only Economists – Not Recyclers – Can Stop Global Warming |
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bridges vol. 32, December 2011 / Noteworthy Information
Gernot Wagner at the bridges Lecture Series 2011
"It's not the individual action but the right economic policies that will enable us to save the planet," asserted Gernot Wagner, economist at the Environmental Defense Fund and bridges columnist, at the bridges lecture series event 2011 entitled "But Will the Planet Notice? Why Only Economists - Not Recyclers - Can Stop Global Warming." The event was hosted by the Office of Science and Technology at the Austrian Embassy on December 6, and was based on Wagner's recently published book, But Will the Planet Notice? How Smart Economics Can Save the World.
In Wagner's opinion, major environmental problems such as global warming cannot be solved by individual actions like recycling. Instead, it takes "policy change to prompt behavioral change." Wagner substantiates his argument by providing successful examples of policy change, such as the installation of bikeways in New York: "First, there came the bikeways and then came the biking." Wagner emphasizes that such governmental regulation should especially be applied to the control of emission of carbon dioxide caused by airlines: One ton of emitted carbon dioxide causes about $20 damage to economy and ecosystems. Wagner points out that the opportunity offered by some airlines to voluntarily pay some extra fee in order to "offset" the emission of one's flight "isn't any incentive at all to fly less." Quite the contrary, such "offsets" do not change people's behavior but rather silence people's consciences.
Q&A Session
Wagner's talk and argumentation prompted lively participation from the approximately 200 listeners, who came from US agencies and scientific institutions as well as the private sector. Marc Gunther, a contributing editor to Fortune magazine with a focus on business and sustainability, skillfully moderated the Q&A session, which was followed by a book signing and a festive Austrian holiday reception.
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EU-US Summit, Transatlantic Economic Council, and US-EU Energy Council Held in Washington, DC |
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bridges vol. 32, December 2011 / Noteworthy Information
In late November 2011, EU and US leaders met in Washington, DC, for a series of high-level meetings:
The EU-US Summit on November 28 in Washington, DC, reemphasized that the United States and the European Union are committed to ensuring that the EU-US partnership brings greater prosperity and security to its 800 million citizens and to working together to address global challenges.
On November 29, US White House and Cabinet officials, EU Commissioners, and other senior economic policy and regulatory officials held the sixth meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC). The TEC focuses on early coordination of regulations and standards to avoid future barriers to trade and to create new opportunities for jobs and growth through cooperation on regulation and innovation - including cooperation in key sectors such as electric cars, raw materials, and nanotechnology.
Director General Ristori of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Sandalow signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) reaffirming the commitment to transatlantic cooperation on Electric Vehicle-Smart Grid Interoperability Centers. The LOI will provide a framework for establishing two EV-smart grid interoperability centers, one at Argonne National Laboratory in the US and one at JRC-Ispra in Italy. The centers are meant to be state-of-the-art facilities for development and testing of vehicle-grid interface technologies, pooling EU and US research capacities.
The US-EU Energy Council, led by Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Energy Chu, EU Commissioner for Energy Oettinger and High Representative Ashton, met November 28 to review progress achieved on strategic energy issues, cooperation on energy policies, and research collaboration on sustainable and clean energy technologies.
From left to right: EU Commissioner for Energy Oettinger, EU High Representative Ashton, US Secretary of State Clinton, US Secretary of Energy Chu
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Find more information at:
http://www.eurunion.org/eu/2011-News-Releases/EU/NR-41/
and at
http://www.eurunion.org/eu/2011-News-Releases/EU/NR-42/
(Source: Monthly Digest of selected Innovation, Science, Technology and Education Developments in the US, provided by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States)
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