Environment & Climate ChangeCreating an enabling environment for development
climate change
In the last decade, 2.4 billion people were affected by climate related disasters, compared to1.7 billion in the previous decade.The cost of responding to disasters has risen tenfold between 1992 and 2008. (UNOCHA 2016)
Undisputable scientific evidence, assembled by the largest ever cooperation of scientists contributing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the auspices of the United Nations, shows not only that Climate Change is happening already, but also that it is mostly man-made, that its threats are potentially devastating and most of all that it is within the power of the international community to avoid it. The figure on the right illustrates the difference between “business as usual” scenario and a “low carbon emissions” global economy in terms of annual costs to society (in $tn)
The threats posed by climate change is even greater for development countries, as the worlds poor are often the first affected and the ones most harmed by the effects of climate change: Partly because developing countries are in regions more exposed to the early effects of climate change, and because the poor have more vulnerable infrastructure and fewer means to develop protection and mitigation mechanisms. The WorldBank estimates that climate change could push more than 100M additional people into poverty by 2030.
Annual Global Costs of Climate Change
(InTrillion Dollars per Year; Chris Hope, University of Cambridge: PAGE Model)
- low emissions
- A1B (Business as usual)
environmental protection
More than 7 million people worldwide are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, according to new research. (WHO 2014)
More than 12 million people died in 2012 as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment, representing 23% of all deaths. (WHO 2014)
Environmental degradation and resource exploitation are in economic terms classical negative externalities which are traditionally not accounted for in the free functioning of the markets. As such already Adam Smith, who first formulated the functioning of the invisible hand of free markets, noticed the occurrence of market imperfections. Importantly, and contrary to general economic and political thought, actively adapting economic activities to internalise the costs of the negative externalities, thus to protect the environment, reduce pollution, avoid unsustainable resource use does not reduce the wellbeing of society through a decrease in GDP growth, but rather optimises an otherwise dysfunctional market.
As our economy is based on the use of resources and the emissions of pollution, and the consumption of goods, not all pollution can be avoided. In such cases, putting a “premium” on the price of the product that corresponds to the amount of the negative externality caused, and thereby allows to remedy the disturbance, is a classic solution.
Luvent Consulting GmbH supports developing and transition countries in their efforts to reduce the emission of GHG and improve environmental protection on a political and a technical dimension:
(1) Support governments in their efforts to improve the regulatory and policy framework to improve economic growth while mitigating climate change and protect the environment.
(2) Offering technical support for example in adapting agricultural practices to the consequences of climate change, or by offering solutions to reduce energy and water consumption in production processes of companies, or develop smart transportation plans in urban areas in African capitals.
examples
Smart policies and regulations address the problem, the negative externality, without disrupting the otherwise efficient functioning of the free market. We would typically address the following aspects:
- Assess the scope of negative externalities
- Stakeholder consultations, public private dialogue, expert opinions to find a compromise and define the best course of action.
- Assist in drafting regulations and policies to internalize the negative externalities
- Provide regulatory impact assessments (general RIA, as well as economic and environmentally focused impact assessments)
We provide regulatory and policy advise to support governments in taking active steps to mitigate and adapt to climate in the areas of:
- Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency
- Green and sustainable Cities
- Sustainable Agriculture: Resilience Development
- Sustainable Transport
- Green Materials
- Forest and Land management
- Green Startups and sustainable business
- Green finance
our services
- Capacity development at all levels of government and in the private sector
- Strengthening Policies, Governance, and Capacities
- Natural Resource Management
- Sustainable Tourism
- Resource efficient economy
- Green Public Procurement
- Sustainable Production
- Mitigating GHG in Agriculture, Industry, Transport
- Adaptation to Climate Change in Rural and Urban contexts
- Climate Financing
- Build capacity for climate resilient health systems
