Editor's note: Paul Polman is Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and Commissioner - Global Commission for the Economy and Climate, and Christiana Figueres is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The views do not necessarily represent those of China Daily.

The wild weather being witnessed across the globe - from Australia's hottest summer to Britain's wettest winter - is spelling out some of the sobering impacts facing everyone from unchecked climate change. The unprecedented impacts are a wake-up call to all of us.

Fortunately there is also a wake-up call in board rooms and corporate associations. Indeed something extraordinary is happening in 2014 that holds the seeds of a more comprehensive response to the realities at hand and the promise of a new, and more importantly meaningful, universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015.

Just as the evidence paints a bleak picture of a hotter, more volatile planet, more leaders in all sectors are recognizing the need to come together to work through the political challenges holding back progress. Underlying this is the insight that climate change is not just a grave risk to business continuity, but an equally prodigious opportunity to lead the development of a new, low carbon economy.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Action 2020 program is a case in point. It will shortly deliver a suite of scalable business solutions to a range of climate and development challenges.

The formation of the B-Team is another good example: its vision of a world in which the purpose of business is to be a driving force for social, environmental and economic benefit has many businesses stepping up to lead.

It's a shift in corporate understanding that has not happened a moment too soon.

The UN estimates that economic losses from natural disasters since 2000 are $2.5 trillion, at least 50 percent higher than previous international estimates.

Scientific American recently reported that floods alone could cost the world's cities $1 trillion annually by 2050.

Anyone who wants to be in business over the coming years and decades needs to engage now on both the politics and the policy.

Politically much depends on the choreography of key meetings in the run-up to COP21 in Paris in 2015, not least UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Climate Summit in New York this September.

But most of all it depends on the extent to which leaders in every sector feel empowered to lead.

This is why we welcome the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, led by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon. It is examining how nations, cities and companies can achieve their core economic and social goals whilst simultaneously reducing the risk of dangerous climate change.

So what action do business leaders need to take individually and collectively?

First, honesty: We are currently on a path to devastating climate change that will be catastrophic for many business sectors and many economies, not to mention millions if not billions of people around the world.

Second, put our own houses in order as it makes economic as well as environmental sense - the UK Carbon Trust's analysis of energy efficiency measures identified in over 2,000 organizations showed an average internal rate of return of over 40 percent which compares very favorably with 10-15 percent returns from ‘typical' business investments.

Even bigger benefits can be reaped by looking outwards, up and down supply chains and working with suppliers, customers and consumers to rethink systems.

This in turn has the potential to tip whole economic sectors onto a more sustainable path, reducing risk and increasing returns.

The work of the Consumer Goods Forum in addressing deforestation and emissions from refrigeration is an example of bold action.

The revolution in sustainable sourcing with partnerships such as the New Vision for Agriculture is another.

Third, work in partnership with political leaders - there are still vested interests in the old economy telling them it's too difficult, too expensive or not the right time.

None of this is true. In fact it is too difficult and too expensive not to act, and more than ever before, the time to do so is now.

We are in an era of unprecedented change where businesses and consumers are facing unpredictable risk: supply chains draw on resources that are volatile in both price and supply.

Take for example the case of a beef processing plant in Texas that shut down last year, because there just wasn't enough water in the region to keep the cattle industry alive - 2,300 jobs or 10 percent of the town's population and $55 million in payroll were eliminated in a stroke.

The science of the IPCC will speak to us all in 2014 with ever greater clarity and concern about the world we are shaping for ourselves right here and now and the next generation.

The good news is that many sectors of society, including business are not just listening but are acting in ways that can make Paris 2015 the success it needs to be for seven billion people, rising to over nine billion by 2050.

In the past, climate summits have fallen short because leaders were asked to make sacrifices in the name of a common good. Today the value proposition is dramatically different.

Today we simply ask all leaders to recognize the changes they must make for what they are – the beginning of the end of the high carbon era and the birth of a new kind of economy. An economy in which the new businesses of the future and the forward-thinking ones from the past will come together to power up a new sustainable industrial landscape and a brighter future for us all.

Each one of you reading this has a unique role to play in making this a reality. Whether leadership through business action, political courage or simply spreading the message that the time to act is now, we urge you to step up and play your part in changing the course of history.