pdf download - Sustainia

Summary report Executive summary 5Executive summaryOn 24-26 May 2009, more than 500 business leaders from some 40countries met with leading experts, government officials, and NGOrepresentatives at the World Business Summit on Climate Change,in Copenhagen.The objective of the Summit was to mobilize privatesector engagement in the development of the futurepolicy framework on climate change, and to provideconstructive ideas and practical proposals to supportan ambitious global deal on climate change at COP15 inCopenhagen in December 2009.The Summit was convened by the Copenhagen ClimateCouncil in collaboration with The Climate Group, 3C(Combat Climate Change), the United Nations GlobalCompact, the World Business Council for SustainableDevelopment, and the World Economic Forum’s ClimateChange Initiative, and with the full support of the DanishGovernment.“If I were a climate negotiator now,with six months to go, I’d be hopingthat business would step up the pressureon me. We need to be a bit brutalat times on the negotiators. Some ofthem might even welcome that.”Lord Michael Jay, Advisory Board Member,Globe InternationalThe underlying ambition of the Summit was to addressthe twin challenges of the climate and economiccrisis. Participants at the Summit addressed how theserisks can be turned into opportunities if business andgovernments work together and what policies, incentives,and investments, will most effectively stimulatelow-carbon growth.Key messages from the SummitBusiness is ready to act. If there is one overriding messagefrom business leaders at the Summit, it is that thecurrent economic downturn must not temper the ambitionsof governments to achieve a robust climate treatyin Copenhagen, as business is ready to respond andturn talk into action. Business leaders have the availablemodels and technologies, as well as the willingnessto implement what a new ambitious political frameworkwould demand. Economic recovery and urgent action totackle climate change can be complementary by boostingthe economy and jobs through investment in thenew infrastructure needed to reduce emissions.The Copenhagen CallAt the end of the Summit, the Copenhagen ClimateCouncil and its partners presented businessrecommendations – the Copenhagen Call - to theDanish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen andthe UNFCCC Secretary General Yvo de Boer, whichcalls upon political leaders to agree an ambitiousand effective global climate treaty at COP15in Copenhagen. You can find the full text of theCopenhagen Call on pg. 10.The challenge is manageable and affordable. There wasrecognition that while action to tackle emissions growthwill result in short-term costs, this will be outweighedby long-term benefits of avoiding dangerous climatechange. The technical solutions are to a great extentavailable or emerging, but need to be fully implementedand supported by policy frameworks.Business recognizes and should act on climate changescience. Business stands ready to invest and developsolutions to climate change, based on input from thescientific community of the urgency and scale of theproblem. IPCC chair, Dr. R.K. Pachauri, noted duringdiscussions that we are “towards the upper end of therange” of the emissions paths assessed in the 2007Fourth Assessment Report. This concern was shared byformer U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who expressed howfuture generations would look back at us if “we choosenot to take action to avoid the horrendous catastrophethat the scientific community spelled out and told themwould happen if they did not act.”During the Summit, Pachauri and other scientistswarned that by not tackling climate change, here andnow, politicians would lead the world on a path towardan increased threat of war, population displacement,and terrorism.Politicians need the confidence to demonstrate trueleadership. It was clear during the Summit that businessleaders as well as civil society must support their nationalpolitical leaders. Several discussion leaders alsostressed that in order to reach a successful outcome inDecember 2009 focus on a bottom-up approach is crucial