Mexico City, 5 October,
2010 - Business leaders from major global
corporations have committed to reduce their
carbon dioxide emissions across a wide range
of sectors, including
energy, communications, building and construction.
The announcement was made at the conclusion
of the UN-supported Business for the Environment
(B4E) Summit, held in Mexico City from 4
to 5 October, ahead of the UN Climate Conference
in Cancun next month.
Energy companies present
agreed to work towards achieving a target
of 100% renewable energy production by 2050.
ICT companies agreed to reduce 7.6 Gigatons
of CO2 emissions by 2020, while representatives
of the building sector committed to reduce
emissions by 40% in new buildings by 2020
and improve energy efficiency by up to 40%
in existing buildings.
Business leaders called
upon governments to advance international
negotiations to ensure an ambitious outcome
at the Cancun Climate talks (16th Conference
of the Parties) which are being organised
by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change later this year. Those
gathered in Mexico City also stressed the
need for a global 'level playing field'
that would enable these commitments and
foster green entrepreneurship among and
across industry sectors.
Companies acknowledged
that entrepreneurial action to address climate
change can play a critical role in stimulating
a global economic recovery, creating new
jobs and building more sustainable and resilient
low-carbon societies.
UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said, "Many businesses, including those
at the B4E Summit, are signaling leadership
and seizing the opportunities of the climate
change challenge. Why? Because many see
rising risks to profits from the impacts
of rising greenhouse gases but also an opportunity
to become far more resource efficient and
innovative enterprises. Governments at the
UN climate convention meeting in Cancun
and beyond have a responsibility to support
these aims and actions by signaling their
determination to set the kinds of national
and global policy frameworks able to accelerate
and sustain these transformations."
"Civil society
and business can both take a role in speaking-up
so that the right policy-frameworks are
put in place as well as in communicating
the solutions which are already available",
said James Leape, Director General of WWF-International.
"We should all recognize that international
negotiations on climate are not moving at
the pace needed. This business summit, held
immediately before Cancun, should stimulate
all governments to act in order to unleash
business potential to transform our economies",
he added.
"While governments
hold the key to setting the right signals
and incentives, it is business that provides
the solutions we need," said Georg
Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global
Compact. "Now is the time to support
the many efforts that already exist, to
ensure that low-carbon innovation is shared
widely and to mobilize those still sitting
on the fence. We cannot afford to wait any
longer."
In their declaration
at B4E, business leaders agreed that in
order to avoid a major climate crisis -
that comprises economic, political, health,
environment, safety and other dimensions
- the creation of global policy and strong
national legal frameworks is needed.
"We all now recognize
the huge problems that climate change is
posing for our societies. We should now
step up, lead and be part of the tidal wave
of companies that bring the solutions our
societies need," said Barbara Kux,
Chief of Sustainability of Siemens.
Companies also recognized
their role in changing behaviour and values
for a more equitable future. "We recognize
the role that big corporations have in changing
supply chains so that small and medium enterprises
can fully participate in the Green Economy,"
said José Luis Prado, President of
Gamesa.
"We recognize the
possibility we have in changing behaviors,
starting from our companies. We can walk
the talk and enlist the hundreds and thousands
of employees that work for our companies
as solution providers," said Magnus
Kuschel, Managing Director of Commute Greener
of the Volvo Group.
According to the companies
at B4E, countries should put in place national
policy instruments including: i) financial
mechanisms to offset initial costs and reallocate
total costs along the life cycle of buildings,
ii) the phasing-out of fossil fuel subsidies,
iii) soft-loans on climate solutions, iv)
smart-grids, feed-in tariffs and buy-downs
in energy that send the right signals to
the marketplace.
In his keynote speech,
former US Vice-President and Nobel Peace
Prize Winner Al Gore said: "We need
the good companies to put pressure on all
governments to lead by example and step
up their domestic and global commitments."
The Mexican Minister
of Environment Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada
said: "The private sector has much
to offer in the global fight on climate
change. We do not want that the conclusions
and recommendations of this event remain
in a drawer. We want to take them to Cancun,
to enrich the negotiations."
Next month, the world's
governments will gather in Cancun, Mexico,
for the UN Climate Conference. A key focus
of the conference will be how a transition
towards a Green Economy model can both reduce
worldwide carbon dioxide emissions and bring
economic benefits.
The message from business
leaders at B4E demonstrates that many companies
are already addressing today's climate challenges
by transforming the way they operate and
achieving benefits both for the environment
and for their own companies. The statement
calls for governments to follow suit by
promoting the Green Economy model and creating
a path towards a low-carbon future.
About the Event
The event was hosted
by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the Mexican Ministry of Environment, the
Mexican Ministry of Energy, United Nations
Global Compact, Global Initiatives, UNEP
with support from WWF.
Company participants
included Walmart, The Coca-Cola Company,
Grupo Bimbo, PepsiCo, Hewlett Packard, AP
Moeller Maersk, Cemex, Tata and Sons, Acciona,
Siemens, Nestle, McKinsey, Volvo Group,
British Telecom Group, amongst other.
Speakers included Al
Gore, the former US Vice President and global
advocate for climate action, Barbara Kux,
Chief Sustainability Officer at Siemens
AG; Claus Conzelmann, Vice President, Head
of Health, Security & Sustentability,
Nestlé; Daniel Servitje, Chief Executive
Officer, Grupo Bimbo; Brent Constantz, CEO
for Calera; Antonio Noyola, Director Energy
and Planning from CEMEX; John Kornerup Bang,
Director Corporate Sustainability at AP
Moeller Maersk; George Kell, Executive Director
of the UN Global Compact; Juan Rafael Elvira
Quesada, Secretary of Environment of Mexico
and James Leape, Director-General and CEO
of WWF International.
About B4E
B4E is the main conference
on Global Business Dialogue and action on
the environment and is intended to shape
proposals on climate change by the global
business community. For more information
see: www.b4esummit.com/
The business summit is jointly organized
by Global Initiatives, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United
Nations Global Compact.
