The technical advisor of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Lilia Caiado, participated this Monday, November 23, in the workshop for journalists “COP 21: How to use”, at the headquarters of O Centro de Estudos em Sustainability (GVces) of the Business Administration School of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV-EAESP).
Lilia spoke about the business perspective at COP 21, highlighting that companies have a very important role because they are the ones who will implement measures to face climate change, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation. According to her, economic and financial instruments will be discussed at the COP to make these measures viable. “Companies' participation is key to the success of the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Lilia.
We Mean Business was cited by Lilia as one of the business initiatives to catalyze ambitious actions to contain climate change and promote smart policies. The initiative already has more than 270 signatory companies, with revenues of US$ 5.8 trillion. Lilia also spoke about the Partnership for Low Carbon Technologies (LCTPi) initiative, a global platform to promote joint work by companies to combat climate change, launched by the WBCSD and brought to Brazil by CEBDS.
Workshop with journalists gathered around 60 people
The event brought together around 60 participants, including veteran environmental journalists, negotiation specialists and government representatives from Brazil and France. The objective was to present practical information and tips to guide COP21 coverage, both for those going to Paris and for those who will follow the conference remotely.
The workshop took place in two stages. The first was organized by the Climate Observatory and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), with support from the United Nations Information Center for Brazil (Unic-Rio) and the French Embassy. The second, by CEBDS, with the support of We Mean Business, and GVces, focused on covering business initiatives at COP 21 COP21.
Business initiatives among the highlights of COP21
In his speech, the executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, Carlos Rittil, said that more than 160 countries have submitted their voluntary contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations, which gives unprecedented strength to COP21, despite A UN study has already pointed out that the set of goals is not enough to prevent the planet's temperature from rising by up to 2°C this century.
According to Rittil, there are mobilizations around the world to pressure in favor of ambitious results at COP 21, including social actors such as religious leaders – highlighted Pope Francis –, trade unionists and the private sector. He cited CEBDS as a member of important business coalitions focused on showing that what is good for the planet can be good for the economy.
