More than 800 business leaders gathered at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 24-26 May 2009. Participants focused on how a post 2012-negotiated outcome could be shaped to encourage business action on climate change. Issues on the agenda included: promoting investment in R&D and rapid deployment of clean technologies; leveraging private capital in financing clean energy; promoting investment in energy efficiency; protecting the world’s carbon sinks; making global carbon markets work; resolving intellectual property rights issues in technology collaboration; and securing the ability to adapt to the effects of climate change in the most affected regions.
At the close of the meeting, participants issued the “Copenhagen Call,” which is directed to political leaders and calls on them to agree to an ambitious and effective global climate treaty at in Copenhagen. The Call notes that business is at its best when innovating to achieve a goal, and that the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital to our common social, economic and environmental future. At the Summit, participants agreed that this will require: agreement on a science-based greenhouse gas stabilization path with 2020 and 2050 emissions reduction targets; effective measurement, reporting and verification of emissions; incentives for a dramatic increase in financing low-emissions technologies; deployment of existing low-emissions technologies and the development of new ones; funds to make communities more resilient and able to adapt to the effects of climate change; and innovative means to protect forests and balance the carbon cycle.
Links to further information
The Copenhagen Climate Council website
The Copenhagen call
Reuters news release, 23 May 2009