Email 4346, July 2001, Rachel Quinn, Royal Society: "The sort of things we could be doing now to cut back on GHG radically are, in fact, extremely good for the economy and society as well as the environment."

Email 4346

on the side we should be going hell for leather to prevent emissions - precautionary principle and all that. The evidence is that we can't wait for a joined up strategy. The sort of things we could be doing now to cut back on GHG radically are, in fact, extremely good for the economy and society as well as the environment. As well as the renewable energy, energy efficiency etc, what about including a session on the 'low carbon economy' - how to develop an approach to goods and services that uses 10 times less resource input. This has benefits to the economy, and society as well as the environment whether or not climate change is anthropogenically caused or not. If what the IPCC says is right, then going hell for leather for every option to reduce resource use in a way that doesn't stop the UK economy in its tracks is a top priority. Such an approach brings together the RS and scientists engaged with climate change, with the efforts of some policy makers (including the PIU in the Cabinet Office and DTI) to get resource productivity into Treasury and industry thinking.

...Dr Rachel Quinn Manager (Environment & Energy) Science Advice Section The Royal Society