Paving the Road to Paris with Ambition

Dear viewers,

We are almost half way through the critical Road to Paris. Only a few months separate us from the pivotal COP21 and they will be instrumental in materializing the transition to a low-carbon economy. As demonstrated by the Business & Climate Summit (BCS) in Paris last week, a fast-growing group of companies are increasingly aware that low-carbon growth, driven by innovation, the right economic incentives and multilateral collaboration, is the only way to secure sustainable profits and employment in the future.

For the WBCSD, Climate Week Paris kicked off with the LCTPi (Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative) Roundtable on 19 May, which set the tone for a productive week. Today, LCTPi involves 82 companies with an active role and 29 partner organisations . Throughout the day, over 160 participants focused on building collaborative action plans under the eight focus areas of the LCTPi (Renewables, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, CCS, Cement, Advanced Biofuels, Climate Smart Agriculture, Forests and Chemicals) towards their respective ambition statements. It is inspiring to see that significant progress was made and detailed action plans are starting to emerge in the run-up to COP21.

The Business & Climate Summit (BCS) that followed on 20-21 May was organized by UNGC France, the WBCSD, ICC, our Global Network partner EpE and in total 25 supporting business networks representing 6.5 million companies from 130 countries. In an unprecedented unified voice, the Summit called for a global climate deal that achieves net zero emissions before the end of the century. More than half of the speaking CEOs were WBCSD members.

As reflected in President François Hollande’s opening remarks, BCS demonstrated that business must and is taking the lead in building the prosperous, low-carbon economy of the future. Across all sectors, business is developing innovative solutions and preparing for their wide-scale deployment in collaboration with cities, governments and other stakeholders. Leading businesses increasingly realize the opportunity that lies in this economic transition and are taking action to make it happen.

Solid national and international policies inspiring confidence and long-term stability are a pre-requisite for bringing low-carbon solutions to scale. The messages from the BCS are clear:

• Leading businesses are already taking action to build the prosperous low carbon economy of the future.
• Business can do more. We are calling for more ambition and innovative collaboration among businesses.
• We call for an ambitious global climate agreement to achieve net zero emissions with robust and effective carbon pricing mechanisms.

Altogether the support from business to drive the transition to a low-carbon economy is growing fast. With over 80 companies now part of the Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi) and an increasing number of business leaders signing up for various campaigns everyday, innovative companies are spearheading ambitious climate action. We were proud to hear Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius refer to the LCTPi in his closing speech, calling upon businesses to support the development and diffusion of low-carbon technologies.

If your company is not yet part of the LCTPi, there is still time to join. The following dates constitute key milestones and will provide you with the opportunity to further engage your company in collaboration with policy makers and other stakeholders. Join the forward-thinking businesses that are shaping tomorrow’s low-carbon world.

Warm regards,