6 October 2010: The Special Business for Environment (B4E) Summit on Climate Change, which took place from 4-5 October 2010, in Mexico City, Mexico, was convened to provide perspectives and policy recommendations ahead of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 16) to be held in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of 2010.

Titled “Accelerating solutions through partnership and innovation,” the Summit was convened by the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Government of Mexico and WWF, and brought together over 300 companies from nearly 30 countries. Participants focused on transformative climate solutions needed to address the mounting climate and inter-related environmental issues, turning crises into opportunity, with a number of companies in the energy, information and communication technologies (ICT), and buildings and construction sectors making commitments to climate action.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of a statement titled “B4E Climate Summit 2010 – A Call To Action,” in which business leaders agree that averting a major climate crisis will require the creation of global policy and strong national legal frameworks. Summit participants also called on governments to move forward international negotiations to ensure an ambitious outcome at the upcoming 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year, stressing the need for a global level playing field to mainstream green entrepreneurship. The Call to Action includes a series of perspectives and commitments, urging governments to show leadership in Cancun and domestically, from the following sectors: ICT; building construction and materials; transportation and logistics; food beverage and agriculture; and energy and utilities.

In addition, during the Summit, the Low Carbon Leaders Project, an initiative supported by the UN Global Compact and WWF, launched a report titled: “Low Carbon Leaders – Transformative Solutions Leadership.” The report lists 12 examples of “transformative low-carbon solutions” that can provide services in a new and energy efficient way. Some of these solutions have the potential to build inverse relationships between revenues and emissions. [Summit Website] [UN Global Compact Press Release on the Launch of the Report] [UN Global Compact Press Release on the Outcome of the Summit] [B4E A Call to Action]