Business Leaders Make Case for Building a Global Low-Carbon Economy

COP16 Event Demonstrates Importance of Collaboration Between Business, Government and Civil Society to Drive Breakthrough Climate Solutions

(Cancun, 1 December 2010) – On the opening day of COP16, CEOs of leading global corporations and the head of WWF emphasized the urgency of building a low-carbon economy for global prosperity, health, security and safety. While expectations for COP16 may have been lower than those for Copenhagen in 2009, the event underscored the depth and breadth of the business commitment to climate action as it showcased what many companies are already doing and how government leadership and civil society collaboration can help accelerate and scale impact.

The “Business Action for Climate 2010” event featured a keynote address by President Felipe Calderon of Mexico and remarks by Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as a panel discussion of business and NGO leaders including Muhtar Kent (The Coca-Cola Company), Andrew Liveris (The Dow Chemical Company), James E. Rogers (Duke Energy), José Antonio Fernández (FEMSA) and Carter Roberts (WWF-US).

Opening the event, President Calderon said: "It is possible to have economic growth and at the same time it is possible to fight climate change. It is possible to fight climate change and at the same time it is possible to mitigate climate emissions. The key issue is to find the way towards clean development.”

Participants stressed that climate talks in Cancun are an important step forward in the evolution towards a clean-energy economy. With the global economy struggling, the CEOs shared how building the global clean economy can be the engine of our economic recovery by reducing energy expenditures through energy efficiency, by retooling manufacturing facilities and distribution processes to use cleaner energy technologies, and by launching whole new industries.

“Now is the time for business, government and civil society to truly take the lead in driving innovation and helping move the planet toward a lower carbon future that supports economic development and job growth,” said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. “The good news is that many of the solutions are already available, but we need to create conditions for private sector investment and innovation to thrive."

“We have the technologies for a global clean economy, but they will not deploy in significant numbers without greater public policy certainty and incentives,” said Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company. “Even without the optimal policy environment, however, we are investing in energy efficiency, in research, development and the deployment of clean technologies, and we are designing innovative financing mechanisms to support investments.”

“Transformational progress can only be achieved when business, government, and civil society are working together to incentivize breakthrough solutions – whether those are technologies, policies, or new business models,” said José Antonio Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of FEMSA. “We already have seen how the Mexican Government’s leadership on promoting a low-carbon growth path has enabled our successful investments in significant renewable energy generation for our facilities.”

The discussion comes at a critical time for both policy makers and business leaders. “The recent election in the United States has changed our political landscape, but the need for a comprehensive federal energy policy must still be one of our top national priorities,” said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. “We need clearer federal policies that support cleaner and more efficient energy across the board – including cleaner coal, advanced nuclear, electric vehicles, natural gas, smart grid, wind and solar. The sooner we get those signals, the faster we can put more private capital to work and create jobs.”

The event was hosted by the major business organizations participating in COP16, including The Climate Group, Green Solutions, the UN Global Compact, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and the World Climate Summit. It was supported by the World Economic Forum Climate Change Initiative.

The World Climate Summit is hosting a business and finance conference accelerating solutions to climate change on December 4-5, in Cancun, Mexico. This new, open and collaborative summit marks the beginning of a 10-year framework that will support business, finance, and government leaders with designing and implementing solutions locally and globally, setting the world on a clean and prosperous path by 2020.

Contact

Matthias Stausberg
UN Global Compact
+1 (212) 917 367-3423
stausberg@un.org