WBCSD brings together over 200 business leaders to turn ambitious low-carbon targets into action for significant emission reductions

Over 200 representatives from forward-thinking businesses around the globe are coming together in New York City during Climate Week, where action plans under the Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi) will be finalized for presentation at COP21 in Paris this December. The plans will deliver a significant contribution from the business sector to reduce emissions and ensure that the rise in global temperatures remains under the 2°C ceiling.

New York City, 25 September 2015 - Today, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) brings together over 200 business leaders from around the world to agree the next critical step in its Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative (LCTPi): turning ambition into action and making a significant contribution from business to reduce emissions and keep global temperature rise underneath the 2°C ceiling.

The participants are meeting to finalize the strategies and action plans that will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world through the deployment of low-carbon technologies and the removal of policy and finance barriers that currently prevent deployment at scale. The action plans will be presented as part of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda during COP-21 in Paris this December.

Led by WBCSD, LCTPi is a unique initiative whose size and scale is unmatched across the world. Over 140 companies and 47 partners have joined together to collaborate on low-carbon action plans designed to reach ambitious targets on emissions reduction.

Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD said that this meeting would set the agenda for business contributions to the COP-21 climate negotiations:

“Forward-thinking companies recognize that ambitious climate action is their biggest business opportunity for the foreseeable future. LCTPi brings together 140 of the world’s leading businesses to collaborate on transformational low-carbon action plans that are not only good for putting those companies in pole position for success in the low-carbon world, but can also lead transformational change through a significant reduction in global carbon emissions”, Mr Bakker said.

Laurence Tubiana, Special Representative of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP-21) and French Ambassador for Climate Negotiations, said that business engagement has always been a key priority for COP-21.

Ms Tubiana said:

"The LCTPi of the WBCSD is a very promising example of the power of cooperation, both among companies and together with governments, to deliver concrete and practical solutions to the challenge of the transition to a deeply decarbonized economy. I hope the LCTPi can make a real difference, by enabling scaled up low-carbon technology innovation, and accelerated low-carbon technology diffusion. This is key not only to implement the INDCs that will be made by governments, but also hopefully to exceed them".

Serge Tchuruk, President and CEO of Joule said:

“As co-chair of the Low Carbon Transport Fuels program, we are very pleased to work with like-minded companies to lower the carbon footprint of global mobility. We are approaching deployment of a technology that captures solar energy and converts waste CO2 directly into liquid fuels via photosynthetic bacteria. This and other unique technologies will benefit from the work of LCTPi to build public-private partnerships and remove barriers to implementation.”

Hugh Grant, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Monsanto Company said:

“The challenges associated with climate change are big and that’s why we are collaborating with WBCSD and other partners to focus on climate smart agriculture. Together, the global food, agriculture and NGO communities can be leaders in adapting to climate change and mitigating its causes. While climate change poses threats to agricultural productivity, continued innovation and use of advanced farming techniques can help both mitigate the effects of climate change and enable farmers to adapt to the changing conditions. This continued innovation makes agriculture one of the sectors most adaptable to climate change.”