As a powerful political actor, business has a vital part to play in upcoming international negotiations in Paris. In this seminar, Nigel Topping reviews the role of business leadership on climate action.
Podcast
Video
Abstract
Given that business is the most powerful political actor, the generator of most greenhouse gas emissions, and the implementer of most solutions, it makes sense to include business in the upcoming Paris negotiations.
Since the UN Secretary General acknowledged the importance of the private sector in Warsaw two years ago, and the Peruvian and French governments embraced non-state actors (business, cities and regions, not parties to the UNFCCC) the role of business in securing a bold global deal and implementing has become more prominent.
The We Mean Business coalition is working to raise the level of business ambition to act on climate change and to positively influence the outcome of COP21 and targeted national policy debates. What role can business play in changing the policy context? What evidence is there of progress to date? What are the pitfalls of including business in the multilateral process? And what are the prospects for business leadership on climate action from 2016 to 2020 before the INDCs come into effect?
Biography
Nigel Topping (@topnigel) serves as the CEO of We Mean Business – a coalition of organisations working on climate change with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses and investors. Previously, Nigel was Executive Director of CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). Nigel has 18 years’ experience in the private sector, consulting for and running manufacturing businesses. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University and an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College.