Engineers worldwide are today sending a strong message to world leaders before the start of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP15):
It is possible to control global warming and keep it within two degrees Celsius. We have the technologies needed; many of them are already in the market, and engineers are ready to be at the forefront of the transition to a low carbon economy.
Even though carbon intensive sectors such as energy generation, construction and industry employ millions of engineers, the task of building a sustainable future holds the promise of more jobs and a better standard of living.
This is the message sent today in a declaration made by the Danish Society of Engineers, in cooperation with 12 other national engineering associations and with the backing of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), which represents 15 million engineers worldwide.
The declaration urges the heads of state who are meeting in Copenhagen “to commit to, and deliver, the ambitious emission reductions that are needed at all levels to secure a sustainable future”.
“We can do it. It's as simple as that. The technologies are there, either in the market or very close to the market. All we need is the push that the world leaders can give by setting ambitious and legally binding goals for reducing emissions, when they meet at COP15,” says Lars Bytoft, president of the Danish Society of Engineers and president of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI), which represents 3.5 million engineers in Europe and is an international member of the WFEO.
The declaration is based on 10 country-specific reports by national engineering organizations showing that with a focused transition to a low carbon economy it is possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-85 % by 2050.
The reports – made in such diverse countries as India, Japan, the USA and Finland – show that starting the transition early will not merely help to avoid catastrophic climate change. Several country reports show large potential benefits to the economy, especially from saving energy.
The Danish report – going into more detail than most – actually shows that the transition to a low carbon economy will create extra jobs.
“We represent millions of people interested in maintaining a good income and a high standard of living. That´s why we want to take on climate change. Our analysis shows that it's a good business case that will create more jobs,” says Lars Bytoft.
Industry, construction and energy generation are three sectors that employ millions of engineers, and they will be very much affected by a change to cleaner technologies. But the study made by the Danish Society of Engineers shows that a change to low-carbon technologies and a reduction of 90 percent in GHG emissions by 2050 is a very good business case.
It will result in a significant socioeconomic surplus as early as 2015, and create a considerable number of extra jobs compared with a business-as-usual scenario (up to 240,000 jobs in Denmark, roughly translatable to around 13 million extra jobs in a US context).
“It's important to stress that this is not only a benefit to the highly educated engineers. Studies from the Scandinavian countries show that each time a company hires one more engineer they also hire up to five more blue collar workers. In other words, if we act fast and forcefully, we will not only prevent climate change from reaching catastrophic levels, but we will also boost the economy,” says Lars Bytoft.
Related links
Future Climate Joint Report september 2009 - pdf
Joint Declaration on Future Climate Engineering Solutions
Video-statement by Lars Bytoft