To the editor;
The European debt crisis and ongoing economic malaise in the United States have captured the attention and concern of many. People are rightfully worried and they are wondering where the global economy is headed and what the future holds for them and for all of us. Clearly, we are in a time of great change, and hopefully we can get through it peacefully and cooperatively and emerge with a stronger, more resilient, and equitable global economy.
The economies of the Asia Pacific, and particularly China and India, have certainly grown at an incredible, almost unbelievable, rate in the past several years. But, in the globalized world economy of the 21st Century, these countries do not exist in isolation from Europe and North America any more than we exist in isolation from them. Moreover, their fossil fuel energy use patterns, which are multiplying rapidly alongside their economic growth, bring serious environmental and carbon emission issues to the forefront for everyone.
The ray of hope is the profound undercurrent of technology change that is also taking place in the global energy sector. Trillions of dollars are being invested in renewable and clean energy infrastructure worldwide.
Modern economies are inseparable from energy issues, and energy issues are inseparable from environmental issues. The private sector understands this better than any other sector and is leading the way by aggressively retooling the world’s energy infrastructure and setting the stage for the improved and renewed global economy that will inevitably emerge from the current uncertainty.
Christopher Law
Received by email