Climate Change: A California Green Plan
Financing Climate Change While big business gears up to address climate change, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) lack both the time and ability to understand the sweeping transformations that will be ushered in with climate change legislation, rules and regulations at the local, state and federal levels. According to the National Small Business Association, 1 in 2 Americans either work for or own a small business. But as environmental regulations become more restrictive, natural resources dwindle and become more expensive, and customers demand more sustainable products and services, small businesses are the least likely to retain environmental staff that can advise them on green practices. Meanwhile the Small Business Administration states that about 50% of all businesses in the United States fail in the first five years. So while small business is a clear economic driver, small business owners and entrepreneurs face an uphill battle just trying to stay alive, much less comply with new rules and regulations and implement sustainable business systems.
EFC9 is focusing on developing a webinar series that will helps SMEs understand new requirements and compliance. These webinars will also focus on how business can save money while reducing their carbon footprint and introduce financing opportunities and return on investment analyses for renewable energy purchases.
Through careful assessment, planning, policy adjustments, cost-benefit analyses, and rapid implementation, many potentially negative consequences created by global climate change can be reduced significantly. The strategies and technologies that can be used to blunt or mitigate these consequences already exist, and it is primarily a matter of education, combined with political will and a willingness to make strategic policy changes, that will determine if investments are made today to radically cut future costs associated with climate change.