Capturing the economic benefits of sustainable development

For those present at the 2009 climate summit in Copenhagen, this week's events will prompt similar feelings of disappointment, anger and even disbelief that in the face of all the evidence, politicians sometimes get it wrong. 

But the doomed Copenhagen summit spurred on a new generation of climate advocates. People in every sector from national governments, cities, states, youth movements, faith groups and businesses, more determined than ever to continue the fight for a global program of climate action that would protect economic growth, create jobs, improve air quality and public health and secure a stable climate for generations to come.

The result was the historic Paris Agreement. A legally binding framework for countries to cooperate in their pursuit of these goals. Its near universal adoption was a sign that around the word people finally understood that...