7 Questions with Bob Keefe

Interview with Bob Keefe 

Bob Keefe is the manager director of E2 – a nonpartisan group which goals to supply enterprise views on environmental points –  and oversees their work on a nationwide scale. Keefe primarily focuses his consideration on the financial advantages of sensible environmental insurance policies; the clear vitality financial system; jobs and associated points. Previous to starting his work with E2, Keefe spent greater than 20 years working as a political, enterprise and environmental journalist. He has co-authored a number of enterprise associated books and launched Climatenomics: Washington, Wall Street and the Economic Battle for our Planet in Could. This week, we requested Bob about his work. 

How did you find yourself as the manager director of E2? 

I spent about 20 years as a enterprise, know-how, and political journalist earlier than becoming a member of E2 a couple of decade or so in the past. One of many causes I used to be actually drawn to this work is as a result of I noticed over a lifetime in journalism, and speaking to businesspeople, speaking to lawmakers, speaking to others, simply how essential and the way influential enterprise voices and enterprise leaders might be on impacting coverage. After we’re speaking about local weather and environmental coverage, we do not essentially at all times take into consideration enterprise voices and the significance of these voices. There are a couple of voices which are extra influential than businesspeople with lawmakers in Washington and in our state homes. What I actually love about E2 is that we’re a corporation of greater than 10,000 enterprise leaders proper now who’re utilizing these voices, their voices for good, for the nice of the financial system and the nice of the atmosphere. 

In your opinion, what are probably the most urgent points proper now, financial system or in any other case, which are related to local weather change right this moment? 

Nicely, probably the most urgent points are those that we’re residing via and paying for on daily basis proper now. As I deal with within the ebook Climatenomics the price of local weather change is just battering our financial system proper now. Final 12 months, we had $150 billion value of injury from local weather associated disasters- wildfires within the west, so many hurricanes within the east, flooding, and drought in our nation’s Heartland and in our farming communities. Now, that’s driving up the price of all the things from corn flakes to hen. Additionally, for those who have a look at householders’ insurance coverage, householders’ insurance coverage is up 40%, partially as a result of insurance coverage firms are seeing report losses from all these pure disasters, drought and flooding from different local weather disasters added practically 30 billion to the price of crop insurance coverage that each taxpayer pays for. And simply have a look at the warmth wave that simply impacted the whole nation by driving up air con prices, forcing companies to chop hours or shut, and even worse than that in Kansas 2000 cows had been killed over useless from heatstroke. 

Are you able to speak slightly bit about why you all deal with the intersection between enterprise and authorities as a mandatory technique to deal with local weather change? How do you all take into consideration catering to, or speaking to each enterprise people alongside of coverage makers? 

Nicely, as I mentioned earlier, enterprise voices are simply so essential and influential with lawmakers usually. In my time as a journalist and my time working at E2, I can inform you that there is nothing politicians, like greater than kissing infants, going to ribbon cuttings, and speaking about jobs and financial progress. They don’t seem to be kissing too many infants anymore, however they positive are speaking about when jobs come to their cities, or financial progress occurs. And it is companies that make that occur. However much more broadly, companies, as I discussed within the ebook, are simply key to the answer. Proper now, each main firm in America is shifting to wash vitality renewables. Why? Nicely, in fact it is the correct factor to do, nevertheless it’s additionally as a result of photo voltaic and wind are the most affordable energy obtainable. Companies are additionally realizing the opposite facet of what I name the Climatenomics coin as nicely, which is the price. And people companies at the moment are relocating away from locations which are liable to hurricanes or wildfires or flooding to locations which are safer and may, to allow them to hold their companies up and operating and the revenue’s flowing, however sadly, they’re operating out of locations to go. It’s a problem that we actually want to deal with on this nation. We have to do one thing about local weather change and the prices that include it for our financial stake if nothing else. 

Are you able to speak slightly bit to our listeners who’re probably in communities the place they might wish to be advocating on this challenge? Why is advocacy on this house so essential? How do the efforts of people or communities actually assist to push and create change on the native stage? 

Nicely, each on the native stage, the state stage, the federal stage, it would not matter. There are lots of people on the market speaking to lawmakers, attempting to get what they need, and for those who’re not speaking to them as nicely, you are not going to get what you need. Ballot after ballot, after ballot, after ballot on this nation has proven that People need extra clear vitality. They need motion on local weather change, and so they need their lawmakers on the federal to state the native stage to do extra about that. And politicians and elected officers look loads at polls, however in addition they pay attention. If we’re not in there speaking to them in regards to the financial value of local weather change, the financial advantages of local weather motion, together with all the opposite prices and advantages, whether or not it is well being or social points or American competitiveness or nationwide safety that’s all tied to local weather change, then they’ll be listening to from fossil gasoline firms. They’ll be listening to from others. And you may imagine that these kinds of firms that and incumbent industries that do not wish to change are spending a ton of cash and are spending a ton of time with these lawmakers. We have to exit and symbolize to speak in regards to the different facet of this equation. 

Are you able to speak slightly bit about what E2 has discovered by incorporating this enterprise perspective into the evaluation of environmental points and if there may be something in your time at E2 that form of stunned you? 

Yeah, I would not say it is a shock and it should not be a shock, however it’s a little arduous to wrap your head round individuals who have made local weather change, the atmosphere, and clear vitality a partisan challenge. The actual fact is it is not a partisan challenge and it should not be once we discuss these disasters. This $150 billion value of local weather disasters that that is not simply taking place in, in blue states or pink states. It isn’t simply California on fireplace. It is Louisiana underwater from repeated hurricanes. It isn’t simply New York and blue states getting hit by flooding, it is Iowa and Indiana, and different locations within the Midwest. So, local weather change doesn’t know geography, geology, or politics, it is taking place all over the place. On the opposite facet of the coin, what we have additionally discovered at E2, and one of many issues my group has achieved for a very long time, is have a look at the place clear vitality jobs are rising across the nation. Yearly we put out one thing referred to as Clear Jobs America. And what we have discovered is that there are virtually as many clear vitality jobs now in Republican congressional districts as there are in democratic congressional districts and, given the expansion we see in issues like electrical autos and battery storage, that form of factor, and the place these firms are going, there’s going to be extra jobs in Republican and pink states engaged on electrical autos and clear vitality. Then there are in democratic districts. So, the message is for those who, as a lawmaker, need these jobs in your backyards, if you wish to do one thing in regards to the financial injury, that is being inflicted in your constituents due to local weather change, you should do one thing about it and you should move insurance policies in Washington. 

Lastly, what are a few of your favourite podcasts or books that you’d advocate our listeners to take a hearken to? 

Nicely, a ebook I simply completed, and it took me a really very long time to complete it, not as a result of it was boring or boring, however as a result of it was very lengthy, which is one thing referred to as Wilderness Warrior, which is about Teddy Roosevelt. It’s nice ebook by a fantastic creator named David Brinkley. One of many issues that actually struck me and, and form of resonated with me as I used to be studying, is to start with, simply how a lot Teddy Roosevelt did when it comes to preserving and actually shaping what America is, is about. He created 150 nationwide forest, 51 federal chook reserves, 5 nationwide parks and he did all that by the best way regardless of large, large stress from timber firms, from oil and gasoline firms from the opposing political social gathering. Congress wasn’t with him on all this stuff and enterprise and trade was not with him on preserving these lands. They needed to chop it down and make some huge cash promoting timber, as an illustration, however President Roosevelt knew that this was the correct factor to do for America. He had the braveness, he had the braveness to do what he thought was the correct factor, even within the face of opposition, from enterprise, from the opposite political social gathering and a Congress that did not essentially agree with them. We have to try this with local weather change. We have to try this with local weather motion. We’re operating out of time. 

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