Jorgen Randers Quotes

We have not done those things that are necessary to lower emissions because those things conflict with deregulated capitalism. We are stuck, because those things that would give us the best chance of averting catastrophe … are extremely threatening to an elite minority that has a strangle-hold over our economy, our political process, and most of our major media outlets.

On the environment and climate change, I suspect that future generations will think there was too much timidity, too much fear of upsetting business. Basically, New Labour was very nervous about regulating business, or requiring it to do anything, even when there was a very clear social or environmental case for doing so.

I think there's a green side to John Kerry, if you like, that he's an environmental activist. His record on the environment is as best as you have on a pro-environment record of anybody in the U.S. Senate.

I hope that in future Congresses there will reemerge a recognition that climate change is a reality, that our policies to meet our energy needs must also deal responsibly with environmental issues, including the damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

If we want to address global warming, along with the other environmental problems associated with our continued rush to burn our precious fossil fuels as quickly as possible, we must learn to use our resources more wisely, kick our addiction, and quickly start turning to sources of energy that have fewer negative impacts.

In the end, I think the majority of Romanian society will understand that if we respect environmental protection standards, if we have benefits in taxes, royalties, jobs, we should do what all the modern countries in Europe and beyond are doing to take advantage of their natural resources.

Now, when we face a problem like global warming, and you understand that the biggest impacts on global warming come from business and industry, I think business needs to take a leading role.

'Green' is likely to be a big issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential election - largely in response to George Bush's suicidal refusal to engage with environmental issues.

The language 'It's too late' is very unsuitable for most environmental issues. It's too late for the dodo and for people who've starved to death already, but it's not too late to prevent an even bigger crisis. The sooner we act on the environment, the better.

Global warming is a crisis greater than WWI and WWII put together. Government leadership is lacking, so companies must play their part.

The current challenge facing the environmental authorities is how to properly deal with the environmental problems caused by economic development.

It is necessary to find a way of reconciling industrialism and ecology, to avoid a hysterical confrontation between new social movements and the production areas of society.

I embrace a Green New Deal; I just think we have to have public-private partnerships if we're going to get there. We have to align the environmental incentives with the financial incentives.

We the people have the strength to bring our country from our weak-kneed stumbling gait in the last ranks of reason to the leadership of the great march to environmental victory.

We can't green the economy without the power of the free-market system.

Greenhouse gas production, water usage and environmental issues more broadly are being mitigated by Canadian technological advances more and more each year.

As the leader of an oil-producing nation, I know how hard it can be to prioritize environmental issues, but the short-term risk to our economic security is far outweighed by the potential risk to our national and regional security.

Citizens and consumers are demanding that climate change and environmental issues be taken seriously.

Green growth is one vehicle through which technology, globalisation and environmental challenges can be turned from obstacles to solutions for problems related to growth, jobs and competitiveness.

Business leaders, social justice groups, farmers and ranchers, doctors and nurses and people from all walks of life are concerned about the climate threat.

All we can hope for is that the thing is going to slowly and imperceptibly shift. All I can say is that 50 years ago there were no such thing as environmental policies.

I've always been a strong supporter of environmental protection and initiatives in that area. But I'm willing to set priorities. If we have to make reductions in one place, we'll have to-in order to increase another place, I'm willing to do that.

Even the government understands that the environmental challenge is so big that no single agency can handle it. It needs collaboration among all the stakeholders - companies, governments, NGOs and the public. Public accountability will be the ultimate driving force.

Like I said, I'm more worried long term about the environmental issues then the use of arms.

Politicians usually get the blame for dragging their feet on environmental issues. And fair enough. Most of them do just that. But the blame isn't theirs alone. For politicians afraid of losing votes, a bristling media waiting to transform good green ideas into monsters is a colossal disincentive.