December’s climate change summit in Copenhagen is now firmly in sight. The theoretical goal is to broker a plan to limit average global temperature increases to 2°C through legally-binding commitments to substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
However, if a credible deal is to be achieved it must not be at the expense of industry competitiveness.
There is no doubt that after Copenhagen politicians will turn to manufacturers to enlist their help to deliver on any promises made at the summit: it is manufacturing that will supply the low carbon products and services that will help to turn political rhetoric concerning the fabled low carbon economy into a reality.
But to do so, manufacturers must be set the right conditions to innovate. Key to this is to ensure that manufacturing sectors are subjected to comparable regulation regardless of where in the world they are located.
In the race to secure a political deal the needs of manufacturers are often overshadowed.
But at present a deal in Copenhagen remains elusive. That is probably not surprising. The agreement over 190 governments and their representatives are seeking to achieve by the 18 December is deeply ambitious. And the US and France are proposing border tariffs on carbon intensive products from countries that fail to take comparable action.
Consequently, negotiators in Copenhagen must tackle the concerns of manufacturers based in developed countries head on.
The border measures, as advocated by the French and Americans, hint of a future of greater levels of protectionism if they fail.
*This post is an exerpt from my article in this month's The Manufacturer.