LONDON, March 4 (UPI) -- It's "crazy" not to put more national focus on a green economy because the costs outweigh the risks, the British climate and energy secretary said.
Chris Huhne, British secretary of state for energy and climate change, in a statement said 21st-century research indicated that human activity was contributing to extreme environmental issues like flooding, volatile weather patterns and warmer temperatures.
He said that even though the United Kingdom was responsible for less than 2 percent of the global carbon emissions, climate change was a top policy agenda because it knows no boundaries.
"Food security, water shortages, environmental refugees; the potential knock-on effects are on a global scale," Huhne said.
He pointed to China as a country that was embracing green energy at about the same rate as its economic growth. On the western coast of the United States, California was pursuing green reforms while the northeast states were moving ahead with renewable energy initiatives.
He said that even though some lawmakers in the United States might not embrace global climate initiatives, there was cause for optimism.
"It would be crazy not to prepare for a low carbon future," he said.
