Posts Tagged ‘Paris’

Paris – so who’s paying?

Monday, December 14th, 2015

So who’s paying for Paris?
By Roger La Salle
The fallout
The Paris Climate Summit has been and gone. From my understanding of the outcome, it seems there is a determination, though as far as I can establish somewhat voluntary, to rein in carbon emissions to replace fossil fuels with clean energy. Perhaps that’s the good news, but who’s paying?

New jobs and investment in renewables
Research, defined as something that entails “technical risk” (in other words there is no guarantee of an outcome) is generally an activity confined to research budgets in very large organisations or government funded bodies.

Innovation, on the other hand entails far less risk. In essence if we treat innovation as I have defined it as “change that adds value” or bringing better things to market where people are already customers – clearly the risks are far reduced. Indeed it’s this low risk profile that inspires companies to innovate rather than research.

Innovation and the profits it brings is the lifeblood of business and if there is no clear path to market and almost a guarantee of a successful outcome who would bother; only the foolhardy or cashed up governments and corporations in for the long haul.

Jobs for the future
It’s with this background that I query the questionable exuberant statements of political leaders of all persuasions on the outcome of the Paris talks. This is not in any way to question the need or otherwise to rein in carbon emissions, that’s not relevant to this article.

What is relevant is the so called jobs that will be created that will generate new wealth and a future for economies that invest in so called renewables.

Why not in the past?
Why does it take a Paris outcome to make this suddenly real, the answer is simple – subsidies.

It seems that these new jobs that will fill the spaces of factories presently laid waste by the expense and lack of a positive value proposition of renewables, will now be filled by well-paid workers all by and large subsidized by the taxpayer.

This is job creation by subsidy on a grand scale and with economies of all nations now in a somewhat parlous state, one must ask the question, “Whose paying and how can we afford it?”

Innovation is the answer
On the back of Paris many stock markets tanked, the cost of living will undoubtedly rise as we see these subsidized jobs kick-in and that together with a rise in power prices will inevitable see a fall in business confidence, so maybe tough times ahead?

Now, like never before it’s definitely, “Innovate or Perish”.

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Roger La Salle, trains people in innovation, marketing and the new emerging art of Opportunity Capture. “Matrix Thinking”™ is now used in organizations in more than 29 countries. He is sought after as a speaker on Innovation, Opportunity and business development and is the author of four books and a Director and former CEO of the Innovation Centre of Victoria (INNOVIC) as well as a number of companies both in Australia and overseas. He has been responsible for a number of successful technology start-ups and in 2004 was a regular panelist on the ABC New Inventors TV program. In 2005 he was appointed to the “Chair of Innovation” at “The Queens University” in Belfast. www.matrixthinking.com

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