10 October 2011: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres has called on the business community to “create a virtuous cycle of push and pull” between the public and private sectors to pave the way toward sustainability and a low-carbon future.

Speaking at International Green Business Day, held on 10 October 2011, in London, UK, Figueres highlighted the need for a new industrial and energy revolution, emphasizing the key role of the private sector in bringing about the revolution. She said this transformation requires capital availability, execution capability, and policy support. Acknowledging that the business community could be more “aggressive” in their capital allocations if they had a stronger market signal from policy providers, she urged them to break this “vicious” cycle and convert it into a “virtuous cycle” that can power new growth, create jobs in new sectors, help alleviate poverty and stabilize the climate. She expressed her belief that this is a manageable risk despite the absence of a clear solid international framework.

Figueres also invited the business community to notify the Secretariat of any public-private partnerships they are involved in that reduce emissions or increase resilience to climate change in developing countries. She explained that the Secretariat is planning to showcase a limited number of such partnerships during the Durban Climate Change Conference at the end of the year, starting with such partnerships located in Africa or that have direct beneficial impact on the urban world globally. She explained that the Secretariat plans on building on this experience to launch a fully-fledged programme for the next Conference of the Parties (COP) and beyond. [UNFCCC Executive Secretary’s Address]