Business Pushes for Global Climate Deal

Poznań, 9 December 2008 - Close to 200 senior leaders from business, government, civil society and policy-making met here today at a day-long event to discuss how to formulate the post-2012 climate regime.

The Poznan Business Day, an event co-organized by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Polish Government and the UNFCCC secretariat, was held under the umbrella of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 14).

“Today we heard considered opinion from business in dialogue with senior government negotiators,” said Björn Stigson, President of the WBCSD. “The WBCSD believes business has been quite clear about what it needs: a transparent, predictable, long-term policy framework; precise intermediate targets (2020-2030); commitments from all parties to take action built on fair burden-sharing; separate and distinct consideration of rapidly emerging economies; national policies suited to national circumstances; and skills development and resources to support actions in developing countries.”

“Today’s major challenges transcend national borders and boundaries - addressing them requires concerted international cooperation,” said Guy Sebban, Secretary General of the ICC. “Climate change is a global problem, solving it requires an integrated global approach. We must always remember that economic growth and open trade provide the conditions in which protection of the environment can best be achieved. A global post-2012 UNFCCC framework agreement that achieves consensus and includes all major emitters to address climate change effectively and efficiently is the best course of actions.”

And Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, who addressed the Poznan Business Day this morning, said: "Copenhagen must deliver three political essentials: ambitious commitments by industrialized countries to cut emissions, a way to mobilize much larger funds to help the developing world take measureable action and adapt to climate change, and effective, transparent institutions to deploy that money effectively to the right place, at the right time.

“We need a global partnership between the public and private sector, a self-financing compact to fund action against climate change that offers the right policies, incentives, price points and market mechanisms to attract investment and stimulate business activity along the path of clean energy and green growth. Business plays an essential role in helping define how the market mechanisms embedded in this structure will work to greatest effect."