“Historic” climate deal sets “clear roadmap” for businesses
Green policy news – by Louise Bateman
13th December 2015
A climate deal agreed in Paris to try and limit global temperatures to less than 2 degrees has been heralded as “watershed moment for mankind” and “an exciting opportunity” for business.
Almost 200 countries, including the US, China and India, agreed on Saturday to strike the first climate deal to set out a clear long term temperature limit for the planet.
After almost two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at the 21st UN Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris rose to their feet and cheered and applauded as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the President of COP21, signalled the adoption of the agreement with the strike of a gavel.
Mark Kenber, ceo of The Climate Group, added: “It gives us the long term climate goal we wanted, and a clear roadmap on how to get there. This gives policymakers, businesses and investors the certainty they need to move ahead and build a low carbon economy.”
After almost two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at the 21st UN Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris rose to their feet and cheered and applauded as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the President of COP21, signalled the adoption of the agreement with the strike of a gavel.
Partly legally binding and partly voluntary, the ‘Paris Agreement’ commits all countries to keep global temperature increase “well below” 2C and to try to limit them to 1.5C.
“Historic”
“Historic”
US President Barack Obama described the deal as “historic”, while David Cameron said it marked “a huge step forward in helping to secure the future of our planet”. UK Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd declared it an “extraordinary agreement”.
The Climate Group, a not-for-profit, which works with corporate and government partners around the world, heralded the agreement as “a victory for science and vision which calls time on the fossil fuel age and charts us firmly on course for a clean industrial revolution.”
Britain’s biggest business group, the CBI, said the deal heralded “an exciting opportunity for business” and provided “the framework for business to invest with confidence”.
The key points of the agreement are:
• to try to keep global temperature rises “well below” 2C and to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5C
• for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to peak as soon as possible and a balance between sources and sinks of GHGs to be met in the second half of this century
• for countries to set increasingly ambitious targets for cutting their national emissions and to report on their progress every five years – however, targets are not legally binding and countries can decide these for themselves
• to continue a goal for developed countries to provide $100 billion (£65.9 billion) of finance for developing countries each year after 2020.
The Climate Group, a not-for-profit, which works with corporate and government partners around the world, heralded the agreement as “a victory for science and vision which calls time on the fossil fuel age and charts us firmly on course for a clean industrial revolution.”
Britain’s biggest business group, the CBI, said the deal heralded “an exciting opportunity for business” and provided “the framework for business to invest with confidence”.
The key points of the agreement are:
• to try to keep global temperature rises “well below” 2C and to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5C
• for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to peak as soon as possible and a balance between sources and sinks of GHGs to be met in the second half of this century
• for countries to set increasingly ambitious targets for cutting their national emissions and to report on their progress every five years – however, targets are not legally binding and countries can decide these for themselves
• to continue a goal for developed countries to provide $100 billion (£65.9 billion) of finance for developing countries each year after 2020.
Deal “falls short” of rhetoric
The Paris Agreement still needs to be ratified by national Governments and it has been criticised in some quarters for not going far enough.
Friends of the Earth said the deal “fell far short of the soaring rhetoric from world leaders less than two weeks ago” and would leave “millions of people” globally “under threat from climate-related floods, droughts and super-storms”.
Meanwhile, the CBI said the UK Government needed to do more at home to show businesses that it meant what it was proclaiming on the international stage.
“The Government must provide a stable environment that enables investment in cleaner, more affordable and more secure energy generation, including renewable technologies and new gas plants,” said Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI director-general.
However, Fairbairn added: “We now have a climate deal agreed by the world’s leaders that puts us on a sustainable low carbon path.”
Mark Kenber, ceo of The Climate Group, added: “It gives us the long term climate goal we wanted, and a clear roadmap on how to get there. This gives policymakers, businesses and investors the certainty they need to move ahead and build a low carbon economy.”
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