CALL TO ACTION FAR BEYOND COP26
COP26 engagement lead Nick Baker delivered a keynote speech at Edie’s COP26 Climate Action Workshops, hosted in London on the 5th of October 2021, where he spoke about the build-up to COP26 and how businesses are 'key levers' to delivering on the Paris Agreement.
Nick Baker has called on businesses to escalate their own strategies and commitments and "turbocharge collaboration" on climate ahead of COP26. This does not end after COP26 but needs to be the top of every businesses agenda moving forward in order for the net-zero plans to gain critical momentum to achieve that 1.5 degree increase cap.
Speaking to a room full or business representatives Baker said: “I know that many of you are climate leaders, leading action within your own organisations, so you’ll be familiar with many of the arguments [for accelerating action]. But, I think, over the summer, the impacts have become all too apparent; they are very much in the here and now. The effects of climate change are already with us, whether it’s floods in Europe, or China, wildfires elsewhere or huge storms. They impact everyone but particularly the most vulnerable.”
Agreeing with Mr Baker’s statement regarding the Paris agreement being an excellent vehicle for delivering climate adaptation and mitigation but emphasising the fact that “we now need to implement it” highlights the greater need for developing technologies to be implemented and to actively reduce our carbon emissions rather than just talking about it.
Mr Baker provided the room with some ‘next streps’ for businesses saying: “Much of the action that is needed is going to be taken and delivered, and is being taken and delivered, by businesses. And, often, I think people relate much more to the tangible, concrete actions businesses are taking – whether they are building offshore wind farms or manufacturing electric vehicles – than they do to the less tangible commitments taken by governments in the form of NDCs.”
He then moved on to discuss the ‘masses of influence’ collaboration would have if all sectors worked together as well as providing a set of recommended actions that should be taken by all businesses to collectively combat climate change. These recommendations include:
- Setting a net-zero target, with 2050 as the latest deadline
- Backing this long-term ambition with a commitment to reduce emissions by at least 50% by 2030
- Setting verified science-based targets and striving to acheive them
- Ensuring they are taking action across all COP26 themes: Clean energy, clean transport, finance, adaptation and resilience and nature.
The call to commit to action was clear and the need to extend action far beyond the end of COP26 was highlighted and needs to be promoted to tackle climate change. COP26 is not the end it is only the beginning of our challenge and collaboration is detrimental to the success of tackling climate change.
Link to watch the full Keynote speach here.
