One of the USA’s leading Green Conferences, "West Coast Green" – touted as "a leading interactive conference on green innovation for the built environment" – has recently (2 October 2010) wrapped up in San Francisco. It was inspiring to see several Aussie companies with booths, displaying their wares to the world. And after looking, listening and talking to people for four days from around the world at the conference, it is this writer’s opinion that while we have much to learn from these gatherings, Australia in fact does lead the way in several eco business sectors!
Our world-leading segments include rainwater harvesting, biotech, green business franchise models going offshore and few others. Hopefully this exposure will see these Aussie enterprises gain the support that is required to take their models global. However, it also became apparent at the conference that several other countries are very much more active at supporting their green entrepreneurs and at enticing businesses with novel green ideas to relocate to their countries.
What also stood out was that many of the challenges and obstacles that green product suppliers and installers here in Australia face from government, policy and funding points of view are often the very same dilemmas that they face overseas. It just appears that the powers that be overseas have listened and reacted to the green sector and green public demand far more positively and swiftly than we have here in Australia.
Going Green – the economy of the future
It seems that local, state and federal lawmakers abroad have a better perspective on supporting and nurturing the green sector. They have embraced the notion of “going green” more holistically and this support has translated into stimulating their green tech sector to create more green jobs that has in turn begun to stimulate their green economy and their economy in general as well.
To support this argument, consider this unemployed, ex-autoworker, from Detroit who now works in the Wind Turbine manufacturing industry in Reno Nevada. He and many others like him have been assisted, by forward thinking wind generation policies, to switch skills and now work in the Green Products industry. They and their families feel better about themselves because they are helping the environment as well as being better off financially. There are so many similar stories where skills are being changed, or new skills learned as people migrate from carbon based employment to greener vocations. This is another clear indicator that points to the adage that ‘green can be good’, if it is correctly supported and stimulated by sound policy.
When will the Australian Government put a price on carbon?
So, the question remains, when we will see both sides of our government, finally cut the political point scoring and put a price on carbon? When will we finally get a unified approach so that Australia can become ‘more fair dinkum’ about going green? We all know that this will help reduce green house gas emissions as well as boost the economy with more green-collar jobs at the same time.
Will we ever see a time when the government starts redirecting some of the millions in subsidies that the coal and oil industries benefit from, into the green sector? For when that happens, we will see a levelling to the true price of energy.
This truing will make renewable power sources more attractive to home owners and businesses. When the price per kilowatt-hour reflects the true cost of the energy source, it will become increasingly more viable to install renewables, as payback periods reduce substantially. This will in turn stimulate the uptake of energy saving devices, such as solar hot water, LED and natural lighting, and of renewable energy products such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power generators. Only then, with the higher volume of purchases and installations, we will see the prices begin to fall as more competition enters the market. At the same time, we will be creating more and more green-collar jobs, hence more people paying taxes and less of a drain on our social security.
So what can you do, you may ask, to send a message until these policy changes happen?
Alter your buying trends to greener options. Show that you are keen to reduce emissions and save money at the same time and support green products. Start by buying green products, from dish washing liquid to solar power. Switch off lights and change them to energy saving variants, insulate your home and change to solar hot water (all the while benefiting from handsome government rebates and subsidised home improvements, which will not be around forever).
You can also talk to your MP, educate your children and convince your friends, and generally spread the word. As two things are assured, public opinion and buying power have the power to change policy!
Let’s not forget, consumers have the power and since you can’t vote for another government for three years, the best way you to make a difference right now is by voting with your buying power - both the Government and business understand that the almighty buck is king!
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Check out the Solar and Energy sections of our Business Directory!
Written by Sean Cochrane
Note: Sean Cochrane is Co-Founder of AllSafe Group and recently returned from a five week Green-tech trip abroad. During the first two weeks he accompanied several leading members from Townville’s Green-tech arena attending the 2010 World Solar Cities Congress in Dezhou, China. It was evident on this leg, well led and guided by Greg Bruce and Vern Veitch from Townsville, that Australia had the largest delegation at this event. This fact alone, certainly had the other countries' delegates asking questions and thinking about what we are doing down under in the green space?!
Image credit: N-O-M-A-D via Flickr Creative Commons
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