“Nothing can stop global climate action.” This was the message of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), which ended this Saturday (19), after two weeks of discussions and negotiations in Marrakesh, Morocco. The reiteration of the commitments made by countries to the Paris Agreement and the broad debate involving governments, companies and civil society in the search for paths to climate financing were the highlights of the meeting.
“At the beginning of the COP, the big challenge was for countries to show that they are truly committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement, taking the focus off negotiation and moving on to implementation. The motto of this Conference was how to increase and realize climate ambitions. In this context, the financial sector played a crucial role”, says the president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Marina Grossi.
The Conference brought many discussions about climate financing and economic mechanisms capable of enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy, such as carbon pricing, one of the highlights of the meeting. In this sense, the recognition of the partnership between companies and the financial sector in achieving the Agreement's goals was fundamental, as highlighted by Lilia Caiado, coordinator of the Thematic Chambers on Climate and Energy and Sustainable Finance at CEBDS.
For her, the business sector was a protagonist at the meeting. “The progress in the recognition and participation of business in the implementation of these commitments and ambitions was evident and is present in the document Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action”, he stated.
The document Marrakech Partnership, released at the end of the COP, also indicates that additional investments of US$ 3 trillion will be needed to increase low-carbon infrastructure and make possible the global goal of maintaining temperatures 2º C below pre-industrial levels.
For the Brazilian government, COP22 constituted a starting point for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and fulfillment of nationally determined goals. The Brazilian delegation was represented at the negotiating tables by the Minister of the Environment, Sarney Filho, and Ambassador José Antônio Marcondes. Brazil's main discussions and positions at COP22 can be consulted here.
CEBDS LAUNCHES PUBLICATION ON PRICING AT COP22
During the meeting, CEBDS launched the publication “Carbon pricing: what the business sector needs to know to position itself“, prepared in partnership with CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) and support from We Mean Business.
The objective of the publication is to provide Brazilian businesspeople with all the necessary information about carbon pricing mechanisms, their effectiveness in reducing emissions, benefits to socioeconomic development, impacts on the competitiveness of different sectors and how companies are part of this process.
