How strong climate policies will reinforce private sector commitments

Private sector leaders have joined hands in calling for countries to fully implement their national climate action plans, known as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) through strong domestic legislation so that the many climate commitments of the private sector can be speedily implemented. The decision was made at Business and Industry day at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, where the business leaders, hosted jointly by CDP and the We Mean Business coalition in partnership with the UN Global Compact and CGEM, on Thursday, agreed that with the Paris Agreement now in force, the priority was to move from adoption to speedy implementation. They also set out seven specific areas in which government action would help the private sector. Frances Way, the co-chief operating officer of Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), said businesses has a significant role to play in enabling the global economy to achieve – and exceed – its climate goals, but this can only be made possible once there is a “clear policy intervention” to spur even greater ambition and help drive business over the below -2˚C finish-line. CDP is an international non-profit organisation providing the global system for companies, cities, states and regions to measure, disclose, manage and share vital information on their environmental performance. “The race is on for global corporations to seize the opportunities presented by the sustainable transition. While the majority of companies are out of the starting blocks and on the low-carbon path, clear policy intervention is needed to spur even greater ambition and help drive business over the below-2˚C finish-line,” Way said. Jill Duggan, director of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group, which brings together 24 leading European businesses employing two million people worldwide, acknowledges that as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, the private sector is a crucial partner in securing a prosperous and sustainable low-carbon economy for all. “With the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the world now has a legal mandate to bring about a zero carbon future. This is a fantastic business opportunity. What is now required from corporate leaders is a real step change in the way they deal with climate change. They must move from an incremental, compliance approach to a transformational approach, the only one that can deliver a sustainable, prosperous world,” Duggan said in a statement issued by ‘We Mean Business’ coalition. ‘We Mean Business’ is a coalition of organizations working with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses and investors. The businesses recognise that the transition to a low carbon economy is the only way to secure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all. Although more companies have recently expressed commitment to leadership on climate action than at any time in history, there is more to be done to fully realise the global business potential to contribute to putting the world on track towards the Paris goal of limiting the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Sunday Times understands that the number of companies making climate commitments through the We Mean Business coalition have more than doubled since COP21. In total, 471 companies with over $8 trillion in market capitalisation have undertaken well over a thousand ambitious commitments to climate action. To promote business resilience to climate change, the UN Global Compact made a call for companies to commit to responsible corporate adaptation in June 2016. Adapting to climate impacts offers many benefits to the private sector, such as improving operations and competitiveness, leveraging new business opportunities, building corporate reputation and protecting value chains. In a recent interview with Sunday Times, Natural Resources minister Vincent Biruta said the Government’s ambitious environment protection agenda can only be achieved through effective public-private partnership. Biruta said the Government is willing to collaborate with the private sector, to not only shore up government’s bid to increase green cover, but in guaranteeing socio-economic and environmental benefits, to the population. What business community want To fully realise the private sector’s potential to deliver emissions reductions at scale, corporate action needs to be reinforced by sound national climate policies. To harness their potential, business leaders look to governments to scale up enabling policies through the Global Climate Action Agenda and the Technical Examination Process on mitigation to drive pre-2020 mitigation ambition. Business leaders are looking up to government to drive towards net zero emissions by communicating long-term low greenhouse gas development strategies; connect non-state action to an increase in ambition with every five-year NDC cycle, starting in 2018; mobilise climate finance at scale from public and private sources; enact meaningful pricing of carbon and build climate-resilient economies and communities. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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How strong climate policies will reinforce private sector commitments