Business Has Three Priorities for Climate Negotiators in Bonn

The We Mean Business Coalition argues that for a global climate deal to effectively incentivize private sector investment, it must include a quantifiable emissions target to keep warming below 2°C, a five-year cycle for increasing national commitments, and mechanisms—such as carbon pricing—to leverage trillions in private finance.

• The business community identifies three essential elements for an international climate agreement to provide the clarity and certainty required to shift investments toward a low-carbon future: a quantifiable global emissions target to limit warming to below 2°C (ideally reaching net zero emissions well before the end of the century), a mandatory system for governments to increase their commitments every five years starting in 2020, and a mechanism to mobilize trillions in private-sector finance.
• While the current draft agreement includes the Copenhagen pledge to mobilize US$100 billion in climate finance by 2020, it lacks a definition for how to unlock the trillions in private investment needed. The document suggests that a stable policy environment, specifically including a carbon-pricing system, is necessary to catalyze these investments.
• Current intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) from 150 countries—representing nearly 90 percent of global emissions—are projected by Climate Action Tracker to reduce warming from 3.8°C to 2.7°C, highlighting the need for a recurring commitment cycle to keep policy aligned with technological and economic innovation.
• Various sectors of the business community, including 50 companies in the American Business Action on Climate Pledge, CEOs from 10 major oil and gas companies, 10 food, beverage, and agriculture companies, and six major U.S. banks, have called for an ambitious and effective global climate agreement.

APA

Harris, S. (2015). Business Has Three Priorities for Climate Negotiators in Bonn. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/business-has-three-priorities-for-climate-negotiators-in-bonn/

Chicago

Harris, Sam. Business Has Three Priorities for Climate Negotiators in Bonn. We Mean Business Coalition, 2015. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/business-has-three-priorities-for-climate-negotiators-in-bonn/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Harris |first1=Sam |title=Business Has Three Priorities for Climate Negotiators in Bonn |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=19 October 2015 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/business-has-three-priorities-for-climate-negotiators-in-bonn/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{harris2015business, author = {Harris, Sam}, title = {{Business Has Three Priorities for Climate Negotiators in Bonn}}, publisher = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2015}, month = oct, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/business-has-three-priorities-for-climate-negotiators-in-bonn/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }