B4E CLIMATE SUMMIT

In the run up to COP16 in Mexico, Business for the Environment (“B4E”) will be hosting a Climate Summit during October in Mexico City. The key outcome of the event will be a message from global business leaders with policy recommendations.

Business leaders from various industries will gather in Mexico City from 4-5 October to finalize a draft declaration that will express their recommendations for government action at COP16.

In the wake of COP15, commentators are careful not to raise unrealistic expectations ahead of the next set of negotiations in Cancun, however, there are signs that progress is being made. During the crucial negotiations in Bonn, Germany, in June this year the incoming UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres observed that the mood was improving. “Political will is the key, we have had important demonstrations of this will in the rebuilding of trust and constructive conversation,” she said. Earlier during the Bonn negotiations, the leader of the Indian delegation, additional secretary in the environment ministry JM Mauskar, said: “I am positive, because after two years we heard (here at Bonn) parties talking to each other and not at each other. That’s a positive development which will restore trust and confidence’ in the process of negotiating a global treaty to combat climate change.”

The issue of trust is also on the minds of business leaders – despite their efforts at finding creative solutions to the challenge of climate change, there is still widespread

skepticism among the public of the positive contribution that business can make to environmental issues. This skepticism has only been strengthened by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, making it even more necessary for business leaders to clearly express their position on climate change and their recommendations for the intergovernmental climate negotiations at Cancun.

The B4E Climate Summit will allow business leaders to articulate their growing awareness of the implications of climate change for both economies and societies. Bruno Bischoff, from the Credit Suisse Sustainability Team, notes that “Business's understanding of the need for climate protection has broadened. What's more, it's becoming clear that easily exploited fossil resources are getting scarcer. Businesses that choose to be pioneers of climate protection could soon be rewarded for their move.”