Priorities for COP27 and beyond
On 10 November, our annual NBCC Frontrunners’ Breakfast took place at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Given the importance of the voice of business at COP27, and the importance of private-public collaboration, we invited the frontrunners of business as well as key public stakeholders to collaboratively discuss the priorities for COP27.
We started with an inspiring opening by Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) followed by a speech of Feike Sijbesma, Chairman of Royal Philips and Co-chair together with Ban Ki-moon of the Global Center of Adaptation (GCA), pointing out that we are today, 7 years after Paris, we are clearly not on track versus the agreed targets. The latest “Status of the Climate” IPCC report and gave a clear call to action to step up our global efforts.
Feike mentioned the following priorities for COP27:
- The world needs to commit the already agreed money for mitigation (and now also adaptation) to achieve our Paris Agreement goals and to especially support the Global South;
- The importance of the involvement of the private sector;
- Since 80% of global finance has to come from business,
- Since business are the bigger emitters and they need to decrease its emissions
- Business is an important voice to justify actions by politicians;
- Businesses can share the examples and approaches between companies
- Business can work with their suppliers to amplify its reach;
- Investors can or even need to support and steer the right direction.
- We should address not only mitigation but also adaptation (e.g. make us more resilient for climate change which is a fact for many companies);
- We should have one reporting standard; esp ISSB based.
Next, Sandor Gaastra, Director General for Climate and Energy of Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Dutch government pointed out that the urgency to address climate change has never been so large and underscored the important role of business in driving climate action f.ex. to reduce their own emissions.
Sandor explained that for The Netherlands, this COP27 is very important for two reasons:
- To send a clear signal that we are still aiming for keeping the 1.5-degree goal alive;
- To mitigate the damage by showing solidarity with developing countries and increasing adaptation finance and sharing knowledge.
With these messages in mind, you started the fruitful dialogue within your groups about your priorities for COP27. A special thank you to your group leads Rachel Terry of Van Oord, Halla Tomasdottir of The B Team, Shazia Syed of Unilever, Sonia Thimmiah of Heineken, Roger Leese, and Rae Lindsay and David Alfrey of Clifford Chance. Their priorities were summarised by Nigel Howorth of Clifford Chance as follows:
- At least 70%-80% of required climate finance needs to be provided by the private sector;
- To be involved in the climate debate as a credible partner, it is essential for businesses to have their own house in order;
- Innovative, speedy and blended climate finance solutions are needed to be able to deliver mitigation and adaptation solutions and ensure a just transition;
- Cross-sectoral, intergenerational & gender- equal collaboration is essential to deliver solutions;
- Sharing knowledge and expertise through information exchange and training can build the right capabilities across sectors, in both businesses and governments to drive the change;
- Governments have a key role in providing clear policy and guidance;
- Clear governance and need for common bench markets on targets, disclosure and reporting.
If these priorities are adopted as a common approach by business and supported by Governments then it’s all about taking action to implement them and keep the 1.5-degree goal alive!
