Environment Archives

Business Involvement Essential to Address Climate Change

Published on September 28, 2016

forest_greenAt the meeting of OECD Environment Ministers in Paris, business shared views on how to address major environmental challenges related to climate change and the transition to a circular economy. Taking place one year after the UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development and the Paris climate change conference, the high-level meeting offered an important opportunity to identify concrete areas of implementation to achieve tangible progress in these vital areas.

“Moving from words to action is critical, bearing in mind that green growth is not about curbing growth, but about making the two concepts mutually supportive,” said Russel Mills, Chair of the BIAC Environment and Energy Committee, who led the business delegation at the Ministerial meeting. Business must be recognized as an important provider of solutions and can make its contributions most effectively within a transparent and predictable policy framework that encourages market-based options and incentives. Concrete opportunities for partnerships must be encouraged at the international, national and local levels.

Business at OECD reiterated its support for further OECD work aiming to support climate measures at the lowest cost to society and to promote a supportive policy environment for innovation and investment across different sectors.

Business Highlights Opportunities to Strengthen Paris Agreement

Published on September 16, 2016

ParisWorkshopLast week, business, government, OECD and UNFCCC representatives attended a first of its kind workshop at the OECD to share experiences and explore next steps to enhance the role of business in the preparation, review and improvement of national pledges for the Paris Agreement.  Organized by BIAC and the Major Economies Business Forum (BizMEF),  the workshop included presentations of pro-active business dialogue and cooperation with national and regional governments from representatives of BusinessEurope, CNI, Keidanren, and MEDEF.

Opening the meeting, Russel Mills, Dow Chemical, Chairman of BIAC’s Environment and Energy Committee, stated that “in today’s increasingly inter-linked economies more in-depth cooperation between governments and business is essential to build the best models to most effectively tackle our major climate change challenges.” Over the course of the workshop, representatives of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement and implementation bodies presented their perspectives on where business could support action and inform technical discussions leading up to entry into force of the Paris Agreement and the development of rules for tracking progress of national actions.

Norine Kennedy, USCIB, presented a discussion paper, Business Engagement in Domestic and International Implementation of the Paris Agreement: Institutional Infrastructure for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , prepared by USCIB for BizMEF.  The discussion paper offers case studies drawn from a BizMEF survey of its partner organizations and recommends a recognized business interface to be developed as part of the Paris Agreement institutional infrastructure.  This unique report offered to UNFCCC by leading national and regional representative business groups will be further elaborated and presented in final form at a BizMEF side event during the next climate meetings in Marrakesh in November.

BIAC representatives also attended the OECD Global Forum on Climate Change this week.  BIAC’s ongoing policy work to advise OECD member states highlights the necessity of innovative technologies and investments that will support and scale up mitigation, adaptation and resilience.  In his closing comments, Mills reminded the Workshop that when “business identifies the most cost effective options for climate policy, this helps governments and society tackle climate challenges faster and cheaper.”

To read the current discussion draft, click here. We will keep you informed of further developments.

The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities

Published on July 21, 2016

SustainabilityThe scale and ambition of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) create a tremendous opportunity for the private sector to demonstrate the central role it plays in human prosperity. Business will serve as an essential partner to meet the challenge of achieving the SDGs.

The recently unveiled OECD Development Co-operation Report 2016: The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities, acknowledges the private sector’s role as a “powerful promoter of sustainable development”. It also highlights the opportunity for the governments to leverage private sector contribution, helping to manage risk and providing insights into effective policy and practice. The publication lists the enabling factors, as well as the constraints, for businesses and investors interested in addressing sustainable development challenges.

The report also provides guidance on responsible business conduct and outlines the challenges in mobilizing and measuring private finance to achieve the SDGs. Throughout the report, practical examples illustrate how business is already promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth in developing countries. USCIB and its global network contributed to the report:

  • Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services, contributed an article titled “Pro-Investment policies really matter!” about the link between good investment policies and development (p. 61 in the report).
  • Louise Kantrow, the International Chamber of Commerce’s permanent representative to the United Nations, highlighted the shared interests between the business community and the development community in her piece, “Sustainable development challenges are business challenges.” (p. 28 in the report)
  • And during the report’s launch event, USCIB Vice President for Labor Affairs, Corporate Responsibility and Governance Ariel Meyerstein showcased the influential Business for 2030 website, an initiative by USCIB highlighting the contributions from the private sector in helping to achieve the SDGs.

More details, including ways to access the report can be found on the OECD Website.

Global Business Encourages China to Lead on Environmental Goods Agreement

Published on July 8, 2016

Solar-workers_3Washington, D.C., July 8, 2016 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) joined dozens of international business organizations in urging the Chinese government to take a leadership role in concluding an ambitious Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) this year. A concluded EGA, which is being negotiated under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization (WTO) among 17 WTO members, including the United States and China, would eliminate tariffs on a wide range of environmental goods and technologies.

“China has taken an increasing interest in playing a global leadership role on energy and environmental issues,” USCIB and other business organizations stated in a letter to Chinese government officials on June 8. “As this year’s host of the G20, China has a golden opportunity to lead the successful conclusion of the EGA by the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit in September.” The G20 Trade Ministers are meeting in Shanghai this weekend.

The letter notes that as the largest producer of green technologies among EGA members, China has much to gain from a concluded agreement. A recent study found that the agreement would increase China’s exports by $27 billion as well as result in substantial economic benefits linked to improved environmental quality.

“We strongly urge China to demonstrate leadership that results in the conclusion of a commercially meaningful EGA this year,” the letter stated. “A concluded agreement would promote economic growth, improve environmental outcomes and advance innovation not only in China, but also around the world.”

Read the entire letter

Read more about USCIB’s China Committee

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

About USCIB:
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Business Flags Innovation and Investment at UN Environment Assembly

Published on May 27, 2016

unea2-logo.fwThe second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is meeting this week in Nairobi, Kenya to define new priorities on global environmental policy action, based on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This session, which meets as a universal assembly involving all UN member states and including environment ministers from over 100 countries, was also the farewell session for the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) executive director, Achim Steiner, who has led UNEP for ten years. Erik Solheim, executive director of the OECD Development Assistance Committee will succeed Steiner in that post.

Business and industry representatives from the Global Business Alliance for 2030 attended this session, including USCIB’s Norine Kennedy in her capacity as official business focal point for UNEP.  Attendees took part in the Science and Policy Forum and several events at the Sustainable Innovation Expo, including the UNEA2 Business Dialogue.

L-R: Sally Lee, Mayor of Sorsogon City, the Philippines; John Alrichs, Planet Labs; Barrie Bain, International Fertilizer Association; and Daniel Calleja, Director-General, Environment DG, European Commission
L-R: Sally Lee, Mayor of Sorsogon City, the Philippines; John Alrichs, Planet Labs; Barrie Bain, International Fertilizer Association; and Daniel Calleja, Director-General, Environment DG, European Commission

Speaking for the Global Business Alliance for 2030, Barrie Bain of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) stated that “while technological innovation can come in the form of disruptive change, far more important is to enable continuous evolution and improvement of a wide range of technologies to reduce their environmental impacts.”

After several nights of late night negotiations, UNEA reached over 20 policy decisions, including in the areas of:

  • Marine debris and plastics
  • Chemicals and Waste
  • Access to Information
  • Climate Change
  • Reducing Food Waste

Addressing the links between health and environmental policy is an emerging issue that has received considerable attention in Nairobi.  According to UNEP’s new report, Healthy Environment, Healthy People, 23 percent of all global deaths are due to modifiable environmental factors, with air pollution as the leading factor.

In comments to the UNEA2 Plenary, Kennedy highlighted the importance of creating a strong substantive interface for business and industry to inform and strengthen UNEP programs on environmental science and technology, policy and implementation.  She stated that “sustainability and environmental challenges will require new ways of working, through partnership and enhanced cooperation between governments, business and others.”

USCIB members met with the U.S. government delegation attending UNEA2, and took part in side events on women’s economic empowerment, private-sector partnerships with municipal governments, and climate change and chemicals.  The next UNEA will take place in the fall of 2017.

A full report of UNEA2 outcomes on issues and opportunities for business will be provided at the next meeting of USCIB’s Environment Committee, June 8 in NYC.

Business Priorities for UN Climate Agreement Implementation

Published on May 23, 2016
Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.
Norine Kennedy and Peter Robinson speak at a press conference on December 9 at COP21 in Paris.

Following last year’s landmark conclusion of the United Nations climate negotiations (COP21) culminating in the Paris Agreement, an international treaty designed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, USCIB attended the first meeting of the UN’s Ad Hoc Working Group (APA) on the Paris Accord on May 17 in Bonn, Germany to provide business views on the agreement’s implementation.

Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for strategic international engagement, energy and environment, spoke on behalf of the Business and Industry NGOs at the first meeting of the APA on May 17. She noted that COP21 saw an unprecedented level of business support for the Paris Agreement, and that business across all sectors provides solutions for the world’s mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

“Business develops and provides sustainable solutions in energy production and use, industry, building, transport, energy efficiency, smart cities, water and food security, industrial processes, finance and others that will all be needed for the ambitious, effective global strategy we are embarked on together,” Kennedy said at the meeting.

Kennedy said that transparency, innovation, and investment and markets are business priorities for immediate attention as the UN implements the climate agreement:

Transparency

Defining common rules to measure, report and verify commitments will be essential for the long-term success of the Agreement, and will help promote business support.  Credibility and predictability are vital considerations for private sector planning and investments.

Innovation

All countries and business sectors need to support developing new skills to respond to climate change challenges, enabling energy transitions and shaping public policies for sustainable economies.  Enabling frameworks for innovation and its dissemination, including intellectual property rights protection, are essential. Predictable and transparent policy conditions, open trade and investment and a level playing field in global markets are a prerequisite for effective climate protection.

Investment and Markets

Business welcomes Article 6, because in our view, all markets — including for carbon, goods or financial — should be enlisted to support and deliver results for mitigation and adaptation. Market-based approaches should synergize with other existing policies and options such as international standards, voluntary agreements or other regulatory instruments.

Because business has the relevant expertise to contribute to the review and strengthening of countries’ climate pledges, Kennedy said that a recognized channel for business engagement with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is a must.

“In our view, an institutionalized channel within the UNFCCC for private-sector consultation and engagement would provide the necessary institutional infrastructure to support dialogue, partnership and action in short and long term,” she concluded. “This recognized and regular interface should feature not only at high level events, but in all working aspects of the UNFCCC.”

New Study Details the Impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China

Published on April 22, 2016

Solar-workers_3The Coalition for Green Trade, of which USCIB is a founding member, issued the following press release today about a new study onthe impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China:

New Study Details the Impact of an Environmental Goods Agreement on China

The Coalition for Green Trade today released the results of a new study detailing the effects that a World Trade Organization (WTO) Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) would have on the economy of China and the country’s ability to meet its environmental goals.

Overall, the study, “Value of an Environmental Goods Agreement: Helping China Meet Its Environmental Goals,” finds that full implementation of an EGA accord to eliminate tariffs on green technologies by China – the largest producer of these technologies participating in the EGA negotiations – would have a positive impact on the Chinese economy and environment.

The study was principally prepared by Dr. Joseph F. Francois and Laura M. Baughman of the Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC.  They find that full implementation by China of an ambitious EGA:

  • Increases China’s GDP and national income by billions of dollars;
  • Increases exports by nearly $27 billion, up by 9.8 percent;
  • Increases real spending of roughly $22 billion annually on environmental goods; and
  • Results in gains of approximately $659 billion annually in economic benefits linked to improved environmental quality, based on the literature assessing cost-benefit ratios for investment in improved environmental conditions.

In July 2014, the United States and a group of other countries launched EGA negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in an effort to improve access to important green and energy efficient technologies, among other objectives. The United States and the 16 other WTO members participating in the EGA talks account for at least 86 percent of global environmental goods trade.

The Coalition for Green Trade is composed of a broad range of associations – including the U.S. China Business Council, which provided advice and outreach in support of this report – and companies doing business in the United States who seek to remove barriers to global trade in environmental technologies.

USCIB Statement: Setting the 2030 Sustainability Agenda In Motion

Published on April 20, 2016

un_headquarters_lo-resNow more than ever, business and the global community share a common goal of advancing economic development and sustainability while effectively addressing climate change. This week in New York, governments, business and civil society are gathered to move forward on the landmark decisions of 2015. Through USCIB’s Campaign2015, USCIB and its members supported and informed the decisions of Addis, Paris and New York.  This week our message is clear — it is time to get to work!

Together we have an opportunity to design and carry out promising solutions for the world’s economy and governments, reflecting the UN 2030 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the conviction that business and governments should work together to address global challenges.  These universal agendas speak to everyone, including the business community. USCIB will approach these imperatives holistically, working with our global business network, the U.S. and other governments, and numerous other partners.

USCIB members are committed to advance the vital outcomes of Addis, New York and Paris, both those that have been decided, as well as those requiring further discussion and elaboration.

Addressing the challenges of sustainability demands new ways of working together, through partnership and enhanced engagement between governments and business.  We understand that the real effort is now beginning, as governments determine working details and put commitments into action.  In business, we too are moving to define priorities for further elaboration and what it will take to mobilize and scale up business investment, innovation and action going forward.

Our joint priorities should include:

  • Strengthening specific and distinct business interfaces to the UN system, such as the Private Sector Coordinating Group for FfD, the HLPF and to the UNFCCC and its bodies, such as the Technology Mechanism and Green Climate Fund
  • Tapping business expertise to catalyze and design enabling frameworks for, among other things, research, development, deployment and management of efficient and low-carbon technologies, investment, trade, finance, MRV, adaptation, risk management, and frameworks to promote effective, inclusive and efficient results.

We welcome the UN’s willingness to work in partnership with business so that we can build solutions to energy security, lower carbon development and sustainable economic growth together. USCIB’s platform, Businessfor2030, highlights the fundamental role business will play in helping to achieve the SDGs and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

USCIB and its members are ready to demonstrate what we are ready to bring to this global effort, and look forward to working with governments, the UN community and society as a whole.

Read more about USCIB’s 2015 activities in support of the UN 2030 Development Agenda

Fighting Efforts in the UN to Degrade Intellectual Property Rights

Published on February 19, 2016

intellectual_propertyOne of the most contentious issues during the United Nations COP21 climate negotiations was the push by NGOs and some countries to frame intellectual property (IP) rights as a barrier to environmental goals. USCIB and other business groups made a strong case for IP frameworks, arguing that innovation is crucial for developing solutions to the world’s climate challenges, and thanks to their efforts IP was not mentioned in the final climate treaty agreed to in Paris last year.

However, significant challenges to IP are proliferating throughout the UN system, and concerns remain about the Paris Agreement’s implementation and subsequent climate negotiations. To help push back against attacks on IP protection, USCIB and five other business associations sent a letter to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch urging the U.S. government “to safeguard innovation at multilateral institutions.”

The letter notes that there is positive precedent for such an approach by the United States, as several IP experts from the American delegation at COP21 worked together to ensure that the Paris Agreement’s text didn’t mention IP and removed uncertainty that could have discouraged continued investments by U.S. companies in clean technology.

Challenges to IP have also arisen in the recently announced UN High Level Panel (UNHLP) on Access to Medicines, and at other international regulatory institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO). In both cases, the business community is worried that innovators’ perspective will not be taken into account in the agencies’ policy deliberations. The letter encourages the U.S. to prevent the UNHLP and WHO from “constraining business involvement to the detriment of innovation.”

“U.S. leadership will be essential to managing diverse initiatives across the UN system…to ensure that they do not undermine innovation,” the letter stated. “All relevant U.S. government agencies must be aligned in such efforts.”

Read the full letter.