Low Carbon Economy: Climate Change and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

The earth’s climate are being changed unprecedentedly by the greenhouse gases. Since UK firstly proposed the idea of low carbon economy, various interpretations have been given by international and national scholars concerning the low carbon economy definition, achievement possibilities and market values, etc. Although they are different in the perspectives and concepts, one thing is the same: clean, healthy and sustainable development can be realized by technology and system innovation to minimize the green gas emission and maximize the economic and social growth. The development of low carbon economy aims to mitigate climate change. In the context of low carbon economy, enterprises are facing with influences of international policy, investor, national regulatory, customer, peers, sub-sector and supply chain. Shrewd companies recognize that opportunity is approaching and they are moving to get reward. They have learned to cut their contribution in global warming and act faster than regulators and become competitive leaders. They developed new capabilities which mainly refer to organisational learning and approaches for continuous improvement and innovation. Consequent responsible brand image promotes them to prosper. China’s rapid economic development causes high demand for fast growth in energy production and consumption. Currently, China’s GHG emission now is world Number 2. In process of developing low carbon economy in China, the main corporate environmental responsibilities—cultivating low carbon industry, establishing the supporting system, accelerating the related technology development and application, promoting clean manufacturing—need to be taken.

Keywords: Benefits, Climate change, Corporate environmental responsibility (CER), Low carbon economy, Opportunity, Pressure, Response.