Duke Energy's Jim Rogers Calls for Substantial Reduction in Carbon Footprint at Platts Lecture;
Former White House National Economic Advisor Gene Sperling Challenges Audience to View Climate Change as an 'Insurance Investment'
NEW YORK, Nov. 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy's Jim Rogers called for a 60 to 80 percent reduction in today's carbon footprint by mid-century at the acclaimed Platts Lecture today, in which industry leaders, market analysts, and academic scholars discussed critical sustainability issues.
At the same lecture, former White House National Economic Advisor Gene Sperling talked about the marked change in public opinion on climate change over the last decade and its inexorable impact on future economic policy. Sperling also challenged the audience to look at climate change as an insurance investment - as a preventative measure against future catastrophe -- as well as from an "investment in green" perspective.
Duke Energy's Rogers, known for his advocacy of energy efficiency as a "fifth fuel" (nuclear, coal, gas, and renewables as first through fourth), asked audience members in the lecture to view a low-carbon economy as a national priority, "like a Manhattan Project or an Apollo mission of the new millennium."
In addition to his presidency of Duke Energy, Rogers has served as chairman of the Edison Electric Institute, the national association for investor-owned electric companies. Rogers' outspoken advocacy of energy efficiency and conversation prompted his appointment as co-chair of two pivotal organizations -- the Alliance to Save Energy and the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.
Sperling served in the Clinton administration as the president's National Economic Advisor and Director of the National Economic Council. As director of the National Economic Council, Sperling was responsible for coordinating domestic and international economic cabinet members.
The lecture, "Climate, Energy and Climate for Energy," sponsored by R.W. Beck, with co-sponsor Paccar, preceded the Platts Global Energy Awards gala here, which honors the energy industry's "best of the best" in 17 performance categories. The awards showcase extraordinary accomplishments by businesses and individuals worldwide. Platts, a leading global energy information service, is a division of McGraw-Hill.
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