In Germany, that is what they call the development of low-carbon or no-carbon technologies needed to wean economies off fossil fuels. In theory, the wealth and the jobs - entire industries perhaps - created by the technologies would help to offset the potentially horrendous costs of reducing carbon output.

Eric Reguly quotes a report that suggested the third industrial revolution is well under way in Germany. It said the new energy and ecology-related fields are becoming the country's top job creation engine. "By 2020, this sector will be employing more people than mechanical engineering or the automotive industry," said the writer of the report. Already, Germany has created about 250,000 jobs in areas ranging from fuel cells and electric cars to wind power and energy-efficient houses (the German Passivhaus dispenses with conventional furnaces for heating).

So why do North American politicians keep saying that the cost of Kyoto is too high? As the head of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) said: "You can make money out of climate change, Capitalism can change with a changing market. Lehman Brothers has more environmental experts than the UNEP." ::Globe and Mail

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