Richard Moss
Vice President and Managing Director, Climate Change, World Wildlife Fund U.S.

Expert opinions included on this web site have not been edited by GE.
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There are many times when people casually say that “business is key to solving this problem” when they really mean only that business has a role to play. But in the case of climate change, business really is the key to solving the problem.

Finding solutions to the climate crisis will require GE and other businesses to consider three interconnected elements: risks, rewards and responsibility. With climate change, the most effective strategy to reduce risks and find rewards is to take ever-greater responsibility for solving the climate change problem. A big investment of labor and capital by GE and all other companies will be required.

Like physicians who must “do no harm” to their patients, corporations must strive to do the same with respect to the Earth’s climate. Given the urgency of the problem, it is not enough to make improvements in some areas while continuing to drive up emissions. Given what we now know about the planetary risks, emissions must be driven down by relentlessly reducing fossil fuel use and preventing atmospheric carbon releases from the fuels that are burned. When we construct conventional coal-fired power plants that drive up concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, we are adding to the risk of dangerous impacts and discontinuities. Thus we have a responsibility to freeze capacity additions until and unless the power plants include technology to capture and sequester the carbon in the fuel.

WWF’s Climate Savers, a worldwide group of companies, has a 10-year history of best-in-class commitments to voluntary emissions cuts. As mandatory emissions requirements are established and progressively tightened, Climate Savers companies will do better. They will maintain the mantle of leadership by catalyzing reductions below mandated emissions levels not just within their own companies, but among their suppliers and business sectors. They furthermore will engage businesses in emerging economies to provide the same kind of leadership in their countries.

Private sector innovation and initiative can lead the way out of the global environmental risks to our natural heritage and way of life. The risks are daunting, but the promise of rewards looms large if we embrace our collective responsibility for a better future and work together to achieve it.