News
Verdict from Business: "Not Done Yet"
On Saturday 19th December, The Corporate Leaders' Group on Climate Change put out a press release commenting on the outcome of the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. The group welcomed the fact that "the world's major economies have, for the first time, made commitments to curb emissions", but stressed that "we're not done yet - nothing like." To read the full statement, click here.
High-Level Reception and Press Conference at COP-15
Directly after HRH The Prince of Wales's speech in the UN plenary on Tuesday 15th December 2009, The Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) hosted a special reception in the Bella Centre, where the negotiations were taking place. Our press conference participants met with a wide range of country delegation representatives, ranging from the Vice Prime Minister of Sweden to the ex-President of Costa Rica, in a short reception, where Corporate Leaders' Group Leaders were able to meet with and congratulate the Prince on his speech. Directly following this, an official press conference was held to highlight some of the Prince's initiatives which have had an input into Copenhagen.
The press conference panellists included:
Garrett Forde, CEO Professional Lighting Solutions EMEA, Philips, representing the CLG>
Ole Beier Sorensen, Chief of Department, ATP, representing the investment community>
Andreas Spiegel, VP Risk Management Division, Swiss Re, representing the insurance sector and ClimateWise
Jeffrey Swartz, CEO, Timberland, as a US signatory to The Copenhagen Communiqué
Barbara Stocking DBE, CEO, Oxfam GB
Polly Courtice LVO, Director, University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) (Chair of Press Conference)
To see official UN footage of the conference, click here.
COP-15 Side Event
On Thursday 10th December, The Corporate Leaders' Group on Climate Change (CLG) hosted a side-event at the COP-15 entitled 'The Business of Climate Change Post-Copenhagen'. The event was kindly hosted by Skanska at their brand new office building close to the Bella Centre, attracting about 150 delegates.
A panel of eight experts steered the discussion, including:
Dr. Graeme Sweeney, Executive VP, Future Fuels & CO2, Shell and Chairman, Zero Emissions Platform
Clay Nesler, VP of Global Energy & Sustaianability, Johnson Controls
Meera Sanyal, Executive VP and CountryDirector in India, ABN AMRO / RBS
Sidnei Basile, VP, Institutional Affairs, Grupo Abril
Jeremy Hobbs, Director, Oxfam International
Dr. Jeanne Ng, Director, Group Environmental Affairs, CLP Holdings
Stine Bosse, CEO, Trygvesta
Noel Morrin, VP of Sustainability & Green Construction, Skanska
The aim of the event was to bring together business leaders from CLG-type groupings from around the world and signatories of The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, policymakers and representatives from civil society, to debate what the public policy priorities should be, post-Copenhagen, to speed delivery of the low-carbon economy. The format of the event was highly interactive, facilitated by Craig Bennett, Co-Director of the CLG.
Communiqué reaches Global Leaders
Prior to the start of COP-15, The Copenhagen Communiqué was sent with a personally signed letter by the University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor to all G20 Leaders around the world as well as key G77 Leaders and EU Member State Leaders. In addition, a copy of the statement with all its signatories, was distributed to all EU MEPs and UK Ministers and all negotiators at Copenhagen. During the conference the Communiqué team found it amazing how many times they heard it being mentioned at events and meetings. It was even quoted in a letter sent to President Obama by a group of 30 US companies during the conference.
Communiqué delivered to Gordon Brown, UK PM
The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change was hand-delivered to the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, by the UK Corporate Leaders' Group on Thursday 3rd December at a Low-Carbon Business Event at No. 10 in London. A number of journalists from outlets such as Sky News, Reuters, the BBC and China’s Xinhua news agency attended the event resulting in significant media coverage. The Prime Minister said the transition to a low carbon economy would be a key driver for future economic prosperity.
"We are committed to securing a comprehensive and ambitious agreement in Copenhagen; an agreement which must mark the decisive global shift towards combating climate change, and I welcome this unprecedented support from business to achieve this. Our common purpose is our greatest strength as we push for a binding agreement on climate change," Mr Brown said.
Business to Barroso: "weak deal bad for business"
On Friday 20th November, EU CLG and Copenhagen Communiqué signatory leaders met with President Barroso and Commisioners Piebalgs and Dimas for a lunch meeting to emphasise the importance of a deal being reached at the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen. The delegation handed over both a copy of the Communiqué and an open letter from EU CLG members which urged the President to make the successful transition to a low carbon economy “the defining feature” of his second term in office.
In the letter, the companies state that a strong deal in Copenhagen will enable business to “lead the transformational change that must occur in the world economy within the next couple of decades” but warn that “a weak deal will be bad for the climate and for the economy”. They also warn that the EU’s “leadership advantage” on the low carbon agenda is “under threat” as other countries use their economic stimulus packages to promote investment in green technologies leading them to call for “public finance for smart green growth”, more stringent energy and vehicle efficiency targets, greener power generation and transport infrastructure projects, and “real” smart grid development. To read a copy of the letter click here.
Communiqué Handed to Ban Ki-Moon
The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change was launched today, Tuesday 22nd September at an 8 am press conference in New York, where business leaders from around the world were joined by Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to call on world leaders to agree “an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change". The launch was timed to coincide with the United Nations Summit on Climate Change taking place in New York today.
A copy of The Copenhagen Communiqué was handed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and distributed to over 100 heads of state and governments attending the summit.
CEOs from around the world, representing a remarkable international consensus from the business community included,
Craig Bennett, Co-Director of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders’ Group (UK)
Mr. Gerard Kleisterlee, President & Chief Executive Officer, Royal Phillips Electronics, (EU)
Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Suntech Power (China)
Maria Ramos, CEO of ABSA Bank (South Africa)
Ban Ki-Moon Secretary General of the United Nations
Jose Manuel Entrecanales Domecq, CEO and Chairman, Acciona (Spain)
Guilherme Leal, Co-Chairman of the Board & Co-founder, Natura (Brazil)
Sergey Generalov, CEO of International Investors and Chairman, FESCO (Russia)
Mr. Jack Ehnes, Chief Executive Officer, California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)
George Kell, Director General of the United Nations Global Compact
“It is striking how business has been able to agree on this important issue. They are really calling on Government to do the same….” says Craig Bennett, Co-Director of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders' Group on Climate Change,
Copenhagen Communiqué Launched
The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change was launched globally today, Tuesday 22nd September, culminating in a media press launch in New York at 8AM EST. Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, joined CEOs from large companies around the world to officially present the Communiqué. To download the press release, please select from the following languages:
Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech English French Greek
Italian Japanese Korean Polish Portuguese Russian Spanish Turkish
The Poznan Communiqué
Following from the success of The Bali Communiqué in 2007, in December 2008, the EU & UK CLG published The Poznań Communiqué on Climate Change which set out in more depth what they believed should be the key elements of an international deal on climate change. The Poznań Communiqué, like the Bali Communiqué, was endorsed by over 150 of the world’s most senior business leaders representing companies based in Australia, China, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, South America, India, the United States and Canada.
It was personally delivered to Yvo de Boer, Executive-Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Conference of Parties 14 (COP14) in Poznań in December 2008. Copies were also given to all negotiators. To increase its impact, on 8 December, a group of Australian companies paid for a double-page, full colour advert in The Australian Financial Review. Click here to download it.
To read the text of The Poznań Communiqué with a list of signatories, please click here.
To read the CLG press release on The Poznań Communiqué, please click here.
