New Hours For A Green Bank: G-20 Summit

By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting

The G-20 is meeting in London in early April 2009 to begin their discussions on the worldwide economic recession. As part of that discussion, it appears that a global green economy, or as some are calling it a “Global Green New Deal” is in the works. The executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr. Achim Steiner, has said, “The G-20 meeting needs to be a milestone in terms of focusing investments that address the crises of today and those emerging from climate change, natural resources scarcity and lack of decent employment for close to 2 billion unemployed or under-employed people over the coming decades.”

That’s a mouthful. In fact, the UN is calling for spending 750 Billion dollars to build an environmentally sustainable global economy. They are proposing to do this by investing 1% of the global GDP into five sectors that would accomplish this goal.

The details of the spending show that the investing would be distributed in a)increasing energy efficiency of buildings (existing and new), b) expanding renewable energy, c) developing sustainable transportation technologies, d) improving ecological infrastructure, and e) improving efficiencies in agriculture. The UN remains focused on the impact of the built community on energy consumption. The UNEP is calling for reducing energy consumption in buildings by 80% using existing technologies and products.

This is not a short term project, but rather one that would take months to develop and years to implement. The UN expects to start by discussing this with the G-20 leaders in April, and then expanding their discussions to involve the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Now before you dismiss this idea of a Global Green economy or banking system, let’s take a look at what’s happening closer to home in the U.S. House Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has already introduced legislation in Congress to create a Green Bank. The Bank would function as a tax-exempt wholly-owned corporation of the United States of America, and it would provide financing support for clean energy and energy efficiency projects in this country. An initial capitalization of $10 Billion would come from the issuing of Green Bonds by the Treasury Department. Van Hollen said, ”With the introduction of the Green Bank Act of 2009 we are taking another step towards America’s clean energy future.”

Who would go along with this idea? Well, T. Boone Pickens has come out in support of this concept as being a creative way to get the private sector involved in renewable energy projects. The Van Hollen legislation has support from another source – the Coalition for Green Bank. This is a consortium of investors, financial advisors, energy developers, equipment manufactures and other leaders. Their co-chair, Todd Filsinger said, “Green Bank is a critical step towards facilitating green power development while meeting the primary objectives of CO2 reduction and economic stimulus.”

It is a new world out there. And it’s getting greener by the minute. I wonder what the drive-through lane of the Green Bank would look like. And could I get an energy efficient toaster for opening a new account?

Information sources: Greenerbuildings.com and LexisNexis.

Scott Kriner is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). Scott can be reached by email at skriner1@verizon.net, or by phone at (610) 966-2430. You can also visit him on the web at www.greenmetalconsulting.com.

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