Ahead of the start of the COP25 Climate Change Conference in Madrid, which will take place from December 2-13, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has published the private sector's key requests to COP25 negotiators.
The IPCC Special Report on 1.5 °C global warming released in October 2018 sent a clear signal: the impacts of allowing global warming to reach 2 °C above pre-industrial levels are far greater and more catastrophic than 1.5 °C - expected to be exceeded as early as 2040. The report states that while a 1.5°C world is still possible, it will require a radical and urgent transformation of all economic systems on an unprecedented scale.
This implies urgent advances towards energy, transportation and environmental systems built without carbon, and an earth system that can feed the planet while protecting vital ecosystems and taking pressure off wild habitats and biodiversity. This transition to a resilient, carbon-free future can generate enormous benefits for our economies, society and nature.
Maria Mendiluce, WBCSD Managing Director for Climate and Energy, Circular Economy and Cities and Mobility has highlighted that "the science is clear: we must accelerate the transformation of systems at scale to stay within the safe operating space of 1.5 degrees. There is no more time to waste. The WBCSD and its member companies are calling on governments to adopt commitments aligned with 1.5 degrees and net zero global emissions by 2050, including far-reaching measures to put a price on carbon, ensure a just transition and build resilience to the impacts of climate change."
The following are the expectations of the nearly 200 member companies of the WBCSD regarding the talks that will take place at COP25, with the aim of moving towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
- Increasing ambition towards 1.5 °C and a net zero global economy
- Leadership from the business sector
- Carbon pricing and Article 6 mechanisms
- Resilience
- Financing
- Just Transition
- Nature
- Increased ambition towards 1.5 ° C and a global net-zero economy
We strongly urge countries to strengthen their climate action and increase their national commitments to ensure global net-zero emissions as soon as possible in the second half of the century and build climate-resilient societies. Developed economies, whose leadership is essential, must put in place plans to achieve this by 2050 at the latest.
In this crucial year for climate action, the WBCSD and its member companies call on governments to demonstrate their commitment to climate action and the Paris Agreement by clearly announcing their intention to strengthen 2025 and 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, and develop or update their long-term low greenhouse gas (LTS) strategies consistent with a 1.5°C pathway and net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Leadership from the business sector
Leading companies around the world are making ambitious climate commitments within their operations, and in their value chains aligned with 1.5°C and the ambition to achieve a Net-Zero global economy.
Businesses and leading governments can work together to create climate ambition loops that are positively reinforced by ambitious and strong government policies that give clarity and confidence to businesses to invest decisively in zero-carbon products, services and solutions. These ambition loops accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon world.
- Carbon pricing and Article 6 mechanisms
Carbon pricing is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means to drive deep decarbonization pathways across economies. The WBCSD and its member companies believe that carbon pricing mechanisms are critical to support the urgent efforts needed to drive the transition to a low-carbon future and achieve the 1.5°C target.
We believe that effective carbon pricing policies that ensure environmental integrity are a low-cost means of achieving deep emissions reductions while maintaining competitiveness, creating jobs, fostering innovation, enabling investment, creating value for solutions and minimizing social costs. These solutions correct current problems by applying the polluter pays principle to address climate change, thereby internalizing the costs of carbon pollution in prices. In combination with other direct policy interventions, carbon pricing can ensure a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Resilience
While increasing mitigation ambition is critical to contain global warming to 1.5°C, we must build resilience to climate impacts that we cannot avoid. Companies are building resilience strategies to address climate risks, integrating them into risk management practices, business continuity plans, and growth and investment plans. We call on governments around the world to build resilience to climate impacts for the communities that underpin value chains around the world.
- Financing
To achieve an accelerated transition to a zero-carbon economy, markets need full information on climate risks and opportunities, and clear signals and pricing policies to enable global financial flows to shift urgently towards investments in innovation and technology aimed at achieving a net-zero economy as soon as possible.
- Just transition
We call on governments to support an economy-wide just transition to net-zero emissions through facilitating social dialogue with businesses, workers and communities to ensure that decent jobs meet high labor standards, and by integrating the measures outlined in the Silesia Declaration of Solidarity and Just Transition into NDCs and national climate and energy plans.
- Nature
Our forests, grasslands and wetlands can sequester and store carbon, providing a unique opportunity to help keep global warming within the 1.5°C limit. But efforts to address these issues are still fragmented. There is a lack of urgency and need for more coordinated and coherent policymaking.
For more detailed information on the private sector's key requests to the negotiators at COP25 you can download the pdf here
