The most promising climate change support doesn't come from government ...
On Monday, September 22, I took part in the Climate Group鈥檚 annual kick-off of 鈥�.鈥� We heard from political leaders like Secretary of State John Kerry, Executive Secretary of the UNFCC 海角大神a Figueres, French Foreign Minister Laurent听 Fabius, and Ban Ki-moon the Secretary General of the UN. ASP helped arrange听, which is worth reading in its entirety.
As someone working on climate policy in Washington, I鈥檝e heard from these speakers on these issues before. Their leadership is important; we cannot effectively address climate change without political action 鈥� but it is not novel.
Likewise, when the UN climate summit meets at UN headquarters on Tuesday, September 23, the over 120 heads of state will prove significant in providing the national leadership that will set standards and provide direction for how to address climate change in both UN negotiations and at their national level.
听On Sunday, we heard from a march of 300,000 people through the streets of Manhattan that they viewed climate change as a threat, deserving of concerted action by world leaders. So 鈥� politicians and the people are calling for action on climate change 鈥� that is important.
Business Leaders Taking Action on Climate Now
However, that is only part of the story. What was most critical for me was to see Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, on stage professing the need for businesses to move towards a low-carbon economy. Cook said:听鈥渨e must not accept that there is a trade off between the economy and the environment鈥hat we鈥檝e found is that if you innovate and set the bar high, you can do both, and you must do both.鈥�
Apple鈥檚 leadership on this is impressive, but it is by no means unique. Other businesses are active leaders in addressing climate change, and are making their voices heard during climate week. Philip Ryan, Chairman of Swiss Re Americas announced a new push to get multinational corporations to switch to renewable power, saying:听鈥淭he transition to a low carbon economy will not be successful without a paradigm shift in the way we power our planet.鈥�听HP announced that it has set a new goal to reduce the emissions intensity of its product portfolio by 40% by 2020 (compared to 2010). Richard Branson, CEO and Founder of Virgin said:听鈥淚t makes better business sense than ever to ensure we end the destruction of our natural resources and reduce our carbon output.鈥�听Branson further echoed other speakers throughout the day, saying that addressing climate change is听鈥渢he biggest challenge and opportunity of our lifetimes.鈥�
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These statements about how business is working to meet the challenge of climate change marked the Climate Group鈥檚 launch of a new 鈥淲e Mean Business鈥� coalition along with a report 鈥溾�� that shows how businesses around the world are profiting by investing in low-carbon growth. As the听听explains:
听听is a powerful coalition of world-leading business and climate organizations, which have joined forces听鈥撎齠or the first time听鈥撎齮o create a听unified business voice听in support of decisive action to tackle climate change and transition to a low carbon future.
Founding partners are听BSR, the B Team, CDP, Ceres, The Climate Group, the Prince of Wales鈥檚 Corporate Leaders Group听(CLG) and听WBCSD: the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which together represent thousands of top companies and investors.
The coalition听calls on other businesses to follow their lead on cutting emissions through measures such as increased renewable energy, big improvements in energy efficiency and adopting a carbon price,听in order to听build a听vibrant low carbon economy and avoid runaway climate change, which the involved companies agree is a massive threat to businesses and the economy.
Too often in Washington we hear from the few loud voices saying that any action on climate change will necessarily cost jobs and destroy the economy. It is refreshing and important to hear from corporate leaders who are speaking to a receptive audience. They need to bring their message to Washington, and actively advocate for their position. Until the business voices in favor of clear action on climate change make their voices heard before policymakers 鈥� and base their endorsements and political donations around those voices 鈥� we will be stuck with a broken dialogue. On the other hand, this could signal a real turning point for climate action.
Source:听
