At the end of 2016 the Paris Agreement, a historic milestone in the fight against climate change, came into force challenging the world to achieve a major goal: keeping the increase in global temperature below 2º C. Shortly before, Brazil ratified its commitment to the Agreement and indicated what its share of contribution to the global goal would be.
Since then, one of the main focuses of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) has been to implement actions that will help us achieve the goal set out in the Agreement. This work involves many steps, starting with making society aware of the importance of these commitments.
Watch the video below, produced by CEBDS, in partnership with We Mean Business, and understand the commitments assumed by Brazil within the scope of the Paris Agreement.
Another fundamental step in this work is to engage as many actors as possible and, at this point, CEBDS has a strategic role to play: mobilizing large companies.
Whether by promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their internal processes and business chains, or by working with other corporations, governments and civil society organizations around agendas that aim to develop and scale innovative solutions, companies are the driving force behind the transition to a low-carbon economy.
CEBDS is responsible for fueling this engine. It was with this spirit that we encouraged our member companies to, at the beginning of this year, share what they have already done to help Brazil honor the commitments made under the Paris Agreement and also to call on other companies to do the same. This was the current #TogetherPeloClima.
With social media as the main platform, the action coordinated by CEBDS promoted, at the same time, the dissemination of concrete actions against global warming and an unusual interaction between 17 of the largest Brazilian companies.
This movement that we are promoting on social media is a small rehearsal of the movement that will be necessary for the inexorable transition to a low-carbon economy: a networked, collaborative action capable of inspiring many other companies to follow the same path.
Challenges and opportunities
CEBDS's engagement in this agenda will continue with the launch, in the first half of this year, of a study highlighting the challenges and business opportunities opened up by the goals that Brazil assumed within the scope of the Paris Agreement.
This work is strategic for Brazil to plan the actions that will enable us to achieve these goals. In other words, we will contribute to the development of the means and strategies necessary to implement the commitments to reduce GHG emissions assumed by the country. And it is important to be clear that our success will only be achieved if it is seen as an effort to be undertaken by the entire Brazilian economy.
Therefore, the study, carried out with the support of We Mean Business, will present the opportunities and challenges brought by the goals in five sectors: energy, forests, agriculture, industry and transport.
However, despite the sectoral focus, the study will also point out structural changes that must be made in our economy. Therefore, we will highlight cross-cutting issues and intersectoral relationships, presenting the challenges and opportunities organized by dimension: economic; sectoral; political and regulatory; and technological.
Armed with this study, the CEOs articulated by the CEBDS Leaders Council will, also in the first half of 2017, present it to the federal government to discuss an agenda capable of aligning the commitments made in Paris with the resumption of economic growth on sustainable bases.
In addition to the work directly linked to the developments of the Paris Agreement, CEBDS will continue to lead efforts in 2017 to implement the sustainability agenda as a whole, fulfilling the role it has played for 20 years in formulating and coordinating governments, companies and organizations. Water; biodiversity; sustainable transport and logistics; mitigation of social impacts; carbon pricing; and new financial mechanisms that enable a low-carbon economy, such as green bonds, are some of the issues on which we will work in 2017.
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