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The Climate Is Changing
Evidence of a changing climate is
mounting; so is the relationship between these changes and the observed increase in GHG
concentrations in the atmosphere resulting from human activity such as the burning of fossil
fuels. CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere prior to the industrial
revolution hovered around 280 parts per million (ppm). In 2005, they reached 381ppm. In a
business as usual scenario, CO2 concentrations could exceed 850ppm by the end of
the century, resulting in temperature increases of up to five degrees centigrade. Scientists,
think tanks and an increasing number of governments point to reductions of 60% of global
emissions from 1990 levels by the mid twenty first century for climate change impacts to be
constrained to a level that makes adaptation manageable. There is an emerging consensus that
atmospheric CO2 concentrations ranging from 450ppm to 550ppm could limit
temperature increases to a two degrees centigrade range. Under such a scenario, changes to the
thermohaline circulation belt, sea level rise, rates of melting permafrost, etc could be
managed without major disruptions such as massive relocation of populations away from
inhabitable areas.
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The private sector is
considered as the key driving force of industrial development in virtually all countries
and - through changing patterns of international production, investment and trade - shapes
the economic globalization process. A socially and environmentally responsible private
sector building on the combined strength and linkages between large, medium, small and
micro enterprises is an essential prerequisite for triggering economic dynamism, enhancing
productivity, transferring and diffusing new industrial technologies, maintaining
competitiveness, and contributing to social and environment development
The recent results of the
national private-sector survey of enterprises in Bangladesh indicates that there are close
to six-million medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in Bangladesh. Results from
the survey show that SMEs contributed BDT 741 billion to GDP or 25% of GDP in 2003.
However, due to poor degree of internal specialization, these SMEs can hardly take
proactive actions for effective appropriate technology adaptation for increased
productivity and conservation of environment. Many of them do not have adequate knowledge
and information as well as command the necessary resources required to acquire these
specialized services. The SMEs are in fact struggling for survival and modest growth
everyday to compete with products and services produced by sophisticated larger
enterprises or imported products. “Absence of market linkage for environmental friendly
technology” and “critical lack of knowledge and information on
increasing productivity and competitive advantage through adoption of environmental
friendly and energy efficient technologies” are the two most pressing problems encounters
by the SMEs relating climate change and global warming. |
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A growing body of evidence suggests
that unless micro-enterprises are engaged actively to participate in the formal economy and
develop integral links within a commercial supply-chain, opportunities to build environment
friendly operational and technological improvements remain a critical problem.
 SMEs,
as “poor technology adoption and lack of socially and environmentally responsible business
operations” are frequently identified as one of most important constraints to their
operational efficiency and export market potentials. The situation is even more dramatic for
SMEs active in rural areas where higher transaction costs and even more limited market
information flows create daunting barriers for investing in environmental friendly and energy
efficient technologies for their own profitability and market growth.
With increasing globalization and
increased concerns on environmental issues particularly the climate change, the SMEs need
knowledge, information and access to environmental friendly and energy efficient technical
know-how for their business growth. The vast majority of SMes – the informal businesses that
are the predominant source of environmental degradation through CO2 and other GHGs
can be intergraded in the wider market and develop their productivity through achieving energy
savings.
The full potential of this sector –
in poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental conservation – cannot be realized as
long as SMEs are confined to using underdeveloped rudimentary technologies, limited markets
base and producing simple products to sell to equally poor consumers. Neither can the sector
contribute to the growth nor dynamism of the environment until their key constraints are
removed. One very promising avenue to boost the environmental considerations of SMEs in
Bangladesh is to break their isolation – by linking them to higher-value markets, better
technologies and essential information and knowledge through projecting their social and
environmentally responsible business practices.
The
essential elements of SME driven proactive sustainable environmental program should,
therefore, create an enabling environment to enhance the institutional capacities required to
foster entrepreneurial dynamism and develop means of productivity and profitability
improvements. The focus should be to transform the existing rudimentary technologies of the
SMEs to an environmentally responsive technology that has direct bearing on their increased
productivity and profitability. This can be done through linking them to market systems for
service provisions – primarily technology providers, environmental experts, productivity
consultants. Moreover linkage with forward markets to large exporters and export markets where
environment friendly production system and products has premium values can also work as direct
incentive for adopting environmental friendly technologies.
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