这件originally appeared在cnn.com上。

As leaders gather for the达沃斯的世界经济论坛today, signs of economic hope are upon us. The global economy is on the mend. Worldwide, the middle class is expanding by an estimated 100 million per year. And the quality of life for millions in Asia and Africa is growing at an unprecedented pace.

Threats abound, of course. One neglected risk--climate change--appears to at last be rising to the top of agendas in business and political circles. When the World Economic Forum recently asked 1,000 leaders from industry, government, academia, and civil society to rank risks over the coming decade for the全球风险2013报告, climate change was in the top three. And in his second inaugural address, President Obama确定的气候变化必威官网是真的吗作为他的政府的主要优先事项。

有充分的理由：去年是记录最热门的一年美国大陆，以及极端天气事件were broken around the world. We are seeing more droughts, wildfires, and rising seas. The current U.S. droughtwill wipe out约占美国GDP的1％，这是美国历史上最昂贵的自然灾害。飓风桑迪的损害将占GDP的0.5％。和recent study foundthat the cost of climate change is about $1.2 trillion per year globally, or 1.6 percent of global GDP.

Shifting to low-carbon energy sources is critical to mitigating climate change's impacts. Today'sglobal energy mix正在迅速变化，但是它朝着正确的方向发展吗？煤炭是能源二氧化碳排放量最大的驱动力，占全球总数的40％以上。尽管美国的煤炭需求正在下降 - 过去一年中有55种燃煤电厂关闭 - 它在全球范围内正在增长。世界资源必威官网手机版研究所（WRI）最近确定了1200proposed new coal plants around the world. And last year, the United States hit a record-high level of coal exports—arguably transferring U.S. emissions abroad.

Meanwhile, shale gas is booming. Production in the United States has increased nearly tenfold since 2005,和中国, India, Argentina, and many others have huge potential reserves. This development can be an economic blessing in many regions, and, because carbon emissions of shale gas are roughly half those of coal, it can help us get onto a lower carbon growth path.

但是，尽管天然气是通往低碳未来的重要桥梁，并且可以成为这种未来的组成部分，但它不能使我们完全进入所需的位置。工业国家的温室气体排放需要下降80-90 [到2050年，以防止气候变化的最大灾难性影响。必威官网是真的吗有证据表明汽油正在挤出可再生能源。

在减少排放方面，可再生能源（尤其是太阳能和风能）是明显的赢家。不幸的是，尽管价格下跌，但金融市场仍然在很大程度上规避风险。许多投资者不太愿意为可再生能源提供资金。由于这种心态，以及政策不确定性和低成本气体的扩散，可再生能源投资下降了11％，至2680亿美元。

What do we need to get on track?

Incentivizing Renewable Energy Investment

Currently, more than 100 countries have renewable energy targets, more than 40 developing nations have introduced feed-in tariffs, and countries from沙特阿拉伯toSouth Africa正在对可再生能源作为增长市场进行大量赌注。许多国家还在探索包括欧盟，韩国和澳大利亚在内的碳贸易市场。今年，中国在五个城市和两个省推出了试点贸易项目，到2015年的全国计划。

Removing Market Barriers

Despite growing demand for renewable energy from many companies, this demand often remains unmet due to numerous regulatory, financial, and psychological barriers in the marketplace.

为了解决这些问题，WRIjust launched印度的绿色电力市场发展集团将行业，政府和非政府组织汇集在一起​​，为可再生能源市场建立关键的支持。来自各个部门的十二家主要公司，例如Infosys，ACC，Cognizant，IBM，Wipro等，都加入了该计划。这种类型的政府 - 行业 - 独立合作伙伴关系建立在其他地方的非常成功的模型上，可以刺激扩大的清洁能源开发。本周在达沃斯举行的绿色增长行动联盟会议（G2A2）会议上将重点介绍。

De-Risking Investments

For technical, policy, and financial reasons, risks are often higher for renewables than fossil-based energy. Addressing these risks is the big remaining task to bring about the needed energy transformation. Some new funding mechanisms are emerging that can help reduce risk and thus leverage large sums of financing. For example, theGreen Climate Fund如果精心设计的话，可以成为筹集资金并推动资本市场额外投资的重要场所。同样，多边发展银行的最近的1750亿美元承诺to sustainable transport could help leverage more funds from the private and public sectors.

Some forward-looking companies are seeking to create internal incentives for green investments. For example, companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and UPS have been taking actions to reduce internal hurdle rates and shift strategic thinking to the longer-term horizons that many green strategies need.

Davos is exactly the type of venue for finding solutions to such issues, which requires leadership and coalition-building from the private and public sectors. For example, the the G2A2, an alliance of CEOs committed to addressing climate and environmental risks, will launch the Green Investment Report with precisely the goal of "unlocking finance for green growth."

根据达沃斯（Davos）以及全年其他类似的论坛和会议的情况，2013年可能只是改变游戏规则。