Brian Fallow writing in the Business section of the NZ Herald discusses the upside of climate change: the economic potential of clean technology.
With the clean technology market estimated to be worth trillions of dollars in the coming 20 years, the potential for New Zealand to capitalise on this market is being investigated by local business leaders. Fallow writes about the case for clean technology, and also how NZ might get involved.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“The case they make is multi-faceted.
“Part of it is about the potential for new growth in the economy, especially where the country has some advantage in natural resources or know-how to leverage off.
“Partly it is about businesses capturing the savings to be had from using inputs like energy more efficiently.
“It is also about shoring up the national clean, green brand, which is increasingly under threat.
“And more broadly it is about reducing future risks to the economy ranging from oil shocks to carbon tariffs imposed on countries seen as free-riders.
“Cleantech is often seen as the “next big thing”, as important over the coming decades as information technology has been over the past few decades.”