Seizing the Moment to Build a Sustainable Economy

As we headed to the polls, the economy, the environment and our collective common sense told us the old ways were not working. The stumbling financial markets show the consequences of unfettered pursuit of profits in a system that has no debits on the ledger for environmental degradation and no credits for a social conscience. The troubled climate is bringing home the cost of fouling the air and abusing fragile ecosystems. And inequitable use of resources is widening the gap between rich and poor.

The election of Barack Obama and a strengthened Democratic Congress is a pivotal opportunity for the nation to reset its course. We must accept the president-elect's offer in his victory speech to "join in the work of remaking the nation." And we must hold our new leaders to their promise to assure a future that is livable, safe and just for everyone.

The new administration and Congress must shun the inevitable excuse that it is "too expensive" to curb global warming, or to end our allegiance to high-carbon fuels. It is too expensive not to act; the cost of inaction is a future of 9 billion people living in what Barack Obama on election night called "a planet in peril." It is a world in a headlong rush toward climate instability, water scarcity, high food prices, deeper global poverty and dangerous addiction to oil and coal.

We believe that investors, companies and those who work for them are just waiting for the signals from Washington to begin building a green and sustainable economy—one that creates new business opportunities, trains legions of workers and assures our future.

The signals should come quickly—in the first 12 months of the new administration—and they should include these concrete actions:

• Reform the capital markets to require honest accounting of financial risks that companies and investors face from climate change and other sustainability threats.
• Stimulate the economy through investments in clean energy technology, energy efficiency, green-collar jobs and training.
• Pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 1990 emissions levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.
• End tax incentives and subsidies for high carbon-emitting technologies and projects and enact mandates that 20 percent of the nation's electricity come from renewable power by 2020 and at least 30 percent by 2030.
• Promote energy efficiency policies, including stronger building codes, appliance standards, tax incentives and energy efficiency resource standards, to achieve at least a doubling in efficiency.
• Instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to address environmental, social and governance issues, including climate change, as part of corporate disclosure by all publicly-traded companies.

Though these reforms will not come easily, the election of America's first African-American president shows that anything is possible in this great nation.

And now, more than ever, Americans are hungry for change. They are ready to do what it takes to put this country on a path that will guarantee their children a brighter future.

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