Today's New York Times ran a piece suggesting the economic downturn and plummeting cost of oil are likely to hamper the global transition to a low-carbon, clean-energy economy.
It's a good job nobody's told President Elect Barack Obama. At last week's Schwarzenegger-hosted Governor's Global Climate Summit in California, held to discuss how governments can balance economic growth with environmental protection, Obama delivered (virtually) the following address:
His position could not be clearer. Obama's said it before and reprises here his belief that the move to a clean-energy economy is not an additonal cost to be jettisoned in tough times but, on the contrary, the solution to the economic problems we face.
It will be fascinating to see how the cultural context on this topic in America changes once the message about both the urgency and opportunity embodied in the climate crisis is coming not -down - from the President himself - not just bottom-up. Looking at the brands with best-in-class sustainability business and brand strategies, a visionary leader with the passion and tenacity to drive sustainability through the organization is a critical component to success - think Jeff Immelt, Lee Scott, Sir John Brown, Chad Holliday.
As the economy continues to spiral down, and the voices of the naysayers swell, we hope the President Elect will not falter. The nation - and the world - will take its cue from him. Top-down, indeed...
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