Business leading the way at COP30
María Mendiluce
With less than two weeks to go until COP30 begins in Belém, I am delighted to share details of this year’s packed schedule of events at the Business Pavilion in the Blue Zone. View our COP30 events.
We are co-hosting the Business Pavilion with our Brazilian partner CEBDS, our seven coalition founding partners, and with the support of both new and returning sponsors.
I approach this year’s COP with hope – and some trepidation. Despite some initial hesitance due to political and economic uncertainty and practical barriers, many businesses will now be going to Belém, as we called for in August.
This is important. History shows the value of having engaged businesses at COP. Policymakers tell me time and again that they need to hear from businesses about the action they are taking, and the tangible benefits they are delivering.
The new clean economy is rising. Businesses are adapting, innovating and investing because it makes economic sense and is the route to resilience and competitive advantage. The world invests nearly twice as much in clean tech as it does in fossil fuels. 83% of companies report R&D investment in low-carbon products and services – and it pays off: products with sustainable attributes can achieve a revenue increase of 6-25%.
Alongside getting on with this work, I urge companies to talk about it publicly. Despite the huge opportunity to build prosperity for all, the right policies and incentives would greatly accelerate action.
The risks and costs from climate change are growing. Every fraction of a degree of heating means greater risk of tipping points passed and more extreme weather unleashed. Caribbean communities are reeling from Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful storms to ever make landfall in the region as warmer seas increase the intensity of storms.
Against this reality, what are governments doing? Many have submitted new NDCs that so far are broader, more credible, and more closely tied to economic development than ever before – but in number and ambition they are not sufficient.
To accelerate the transition, business needs a much stronger signal from governments. The Coalition continues to work with global partners to push for NDCs that are both ambitious and investible, with clear plans and timelines for implementation – to turn climate targets into real policies.
This is one of six priority policy areas we’re focussing on as we head into Belém, alongside reinforcing multilateralism, realigning incentives to speed up an affordable clean energy transition and ending deforestation and ecosystem loss – a key focus of this ‘Amazon COP’. See our COP30 policy asks.
With strong and stable policies, business investment can deliver economic growth, better jobs, energy security and lower bills – but governments must set the course.
I look forward to bringing businesses, policymakers and partners together at the Business Pavilion in Brazil as we find ways to accelerate the implementation of this thriving new economy at speed and scale.