In 2009, the foundation Cleantech21 teamed up with Bertrand Piccard of Solar Impulse to launch the business association swisscleantech. Piccard and Cleantech21 CEO Nick Beglinger are both honourary presidents of swisscleantech.
Cleantech21 is now turning its focus to putting a price on carbon emissions. As Beglinger explained in a statement, a price on carbon “is both the most efficient and the most market-friendly way to seriously address climate change”. It would make harmful emissions more expensive and leave the market free to choose the “winners and losers in the race to decarbonisation”. Without carbon pricing, the aspirational target of 1.5 degrees as set by the Paris Agreement on climate change would be out of reach, Beglinger warned.
For the arrival of the World Advanced Vehicle Expedition (WAVE) – an electric vehicle car rally – in Geneva on Friday, Cleantech21 presented an installation on the Places des Nations: a 185 kilogram giant black cube that visualises the transport emissions of one conventional car on the WAVE rally route from Bremerhaven in northern Germany to Geneva. Beglinger likened it to throwing some 200-litre bottles of oil out of your window.
Cleantech21 recently launched the PriceOnCarbon Business Alliance (POCBA) to globally mobilise business advocacy to take action against climate change and put a price on carbon emissions.