Global insights
Climate change will be the defining test of our time. It could also be the opportunity of a lifetime. Across every sector, businesses are already finding new ways to innovate, invest and transform industries. With the right global policy support, businesses can continue to leverage their entrepreneurialism, innovation and capital to scale up even greater solutions to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Go directly to:
Climate change isn’t coming. It’s a reality now.
In the past decade, extreme weather has cost the global economy over US$2 trillion – threatening lives, livelihoods and the stability of business and economies everywhere. The scale of the challenge is significant. Entire industries, supply chains and energy systems will require major investment, bold innovation and real collaboration.
But the smartest companies aren’t waiting. They’re leading the change. Turning risk into resilience and challenge into growth. Driving innovation, creating jobs, safeguarding the economy and the environment.
Now could be the opportunity of a lifetime for business to deliver for the climate but we can’t act alone.
As the official voice of business at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Chamber of Commerce is committed to working with all parties, from government to academia, to ensure businesses can seize the opportunity and help to deliver on the US$1.3 trillion climate finance goal agreed at COP29.
Representing over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries, and committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement, we are mobilising thousands of businesses and chambers of commerce who understand that climate action isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
The greatest challenge of our time is a chance to create the opportunity of a lifetime.
Business has the innovation, capital and drive to help deliver the US$1.3 trillion climate finance goal agreed at COP29. But unlocking investment at scale requires an enabling policy environment. In other words, governments need to reduce barriers and create incentives that give business the clarity and confidence to act.
The decisions we make until 2030 will determine all of our futures. Now is the moment for global leaders to look forward, not back: to help ensure the clean transition is a business opportunity not a business barrier. To unlock a new era of low-carbon technologies, innovation and investment that will deliver a more stable, secure and equitable future.
These are the policy actions that our members and the business community are calling for.
Provide clarity, certainty and transparency around NDCs to enable businesses to accelerate targets and investment
Nationally determined contribution (NDCs) are critical to provide the certainty and clarity businesses need to accelerate their net-zero targets and investment. But businesses can only support NDCs if these goals and plans are clear, transparent and actionable.
To plan effectively, businesses need detailed information beyond mere mitigation targets. That means greater clarity on planned legislation, regulation, use of mitigation policies (such as carbon pricing), financial measures and planned investments. Governments must also demonstrate how they intend to couple legislation with employment and social planning to ensure a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent green jobs.
Introduce targeted adjustments in key financial regulations to quadruple international climate finance going to emerging markets.
Emerging and developing economies receive just 14% of international climate finance, yet need an additional US$450 to US$550 billion a year to stay on a net-zero path.
Under the current macroprudential framework, such as Basel III, banks are disincentivised from financing climate projects in emerging and developing markets.
Targeted adjustments – such as better recognition of development bank guarantees and other risk mitigation tools – could quadruple the bank capital available for climate projects in emerging markets without compromising global financial stability.
Remove barriers preventing the scaling of private sector adaptation investment from closing the global adaptation funding gap.
Climate-related events are intensifying, making adaptation critical for resilience. Yet, global efforts remain fragmented and underfunded – especially in developing countries, where vulnerability is highest and financial capacity is lowest.
Scaling private capital for adaptation requires targeted reforms in three areas: data collection (ensuring access to high-quality, open climate risk data, enabling better risk assessments and adaptation planning); governance (supporting better engagement of business in domestic climate/adaptation planning); and finance (creating financial incentives for adaptation and spaces/sandboxes for testing promising solutions, i.e. insurance-linked instruments, blended finance tools for adaption).
End the patchwork of global climate-trade policies and ensure measures support, rather than undermine, equitable trade in sustainable goods and services.
Climate and trade policies are becoming increasingly interconnected and misaligned. Trade-related climate measures, particularly carbon border levies (also known as CBAMs or BCAs), risk disproportionately disadvantaging developing countries and creating barriers to market access.
Trade-related environmental measures should enhance, not restrict, markets for sustainable goods and services. The current patchwork of conflicting global rules needs to end. Climate and trade ministers must come together and create new principles to ensure trade and climate policies are better aligned and mutually reinforcing.
Tackling climate change demands more than ambition – it requires action. Join us on the Road to Belém to ensure that your solutions are seen, supported and scaled. Help us show global leaders what’s possible when business and policy align – and why their decisions at COP30 must support the conditions for climate action at scale.
Transitioning to a low carbon economy isn’t a pipe dream. Across every sector, businesses are innovating, investing and leveraging emerging opportunities – creating value for business, economies and the planet. Early movers aren’t just keeping up – they’re gaining a competitive edge in this new economy. For them, a clean transition is a strategic investment in growth, innovation, talent and long-term resilience. Are you making the most of the opportunity yet?
Meralco’s Long-term Sustainability Strategy charts a just and affordable path to a coal-free future by 2050. Through major investments in renewables, next-generation technologies and 30 key sustainability initiatives through 2030, Meralco is cutting emissions, strengthening communities, and expanding access to essential services. The strategy shows that sustainability and business prosperity can – and must – advance together.
Brazil’s clean power system gives it a unique edge in decarbonising transport. CPFL Energia is harnessing that advantage by electrifying its fleet, cutting emissions and operating costs while improving air quality in some of the country’s most polluted regions. Through long-term investment and innovation, the company is showing how energy providers can drive a cleaner, more competitive future for mobility.
Robynne Anderson, President of Emerging Ag, shares the stories of three women agripreneurs driving climate action across Africa. In Mali, Herou Alliance led by Rokiatou Traoré is restoring land; in Zimbabwe, Sesame for Life by Josephine Takundwa is turning drought into a business opportunity; and in Kenya, Savanna Circuit, co-founded by Emmastella Gakuo is cutting food waste. Their work shows how empowering women-led agribusinesses can deliver practical climate solutions, strengthen communities and build more resilient food systems for the future.
Feeding a world of eight billion people while restoring ecosystems demands bold, coordinated innovation. Across Africa and beyond, OCP Group is driving this transformation from the ground up – empowering farmers with tailored soil nutrient solutions that boost yields and cut emissions. With a US $13 billion green industrial strategy and powered by renewable energy, OCP is making remarkable strides towards a climate-positive future. From full renewable energy reliance by 2027 and net-zero emissions by 2040, OCP is setting the pace for sustainable growth across the global agri-food sector.
As biodiversity loss accelerates, Suzano is proving that conservation and commerce can grow together. Through the creation of vast ecological corridors across Brazil’s Amazon, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, the company is restoring ecosystems while strengthening business resilience. André Becher, Sustainability Manager at Suzano, explains how linking fragmented landscapes is unlocking shared value for ecosystems, communities and business alike.
Biosolutions – microbes and enzymes or other biological molecules – are tiny but mighty agents of change. From improving crop resilience and reducing chemical use to producing cleaner fuels and cold-water laundry detergents, biosolutions help businesses and consumers cut waste, save energy and lower costs. Already used across more than 30 industries and with a projected value of nearly US$ 930 billion by 2035, biosolutions are in full swing to ring in a new type of climate solution.
As the world’s second-largest rice exporter, Thailand faces a critical test: how to feed more people with fewer emissions while helping farmers adapt to climate change. A landmark public-private partnership with CropLife International is turning this challenge into an opportunity. By scaling climate-smart farming and through blended-financing models, its showing that profitability, resilience and climate action can grow together.
Bayer’s PRO Carbono programme helps Latin American farmers transition to regenerative, low-carbon agriculture. The programme combines robust science, data-driven tools and technical expertise to increase agricultural productivity, while enhancing soil carbon sequestration and reducing emissions, Marina Menin, Bayer’s Head of Carbon Venture in Latin America, explains.
Aviation is essential to Latin America and the Caribbean, connecting vast distances and driving tourism, trade and development. Through Airport Carbon Accreditation – the only global carbon management standard for airports – the region is making strong progress towards decarbonisation. Over 100 airports across 16 countries are now accredited, Rafael Echevarne Director General of Airports Council International in Latin America and the Caribbean explains. This reflects a growing commitment to sustainability and shows that aviation can align with climate goals.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offers the fastest route to decarbonising flight, cutting lifecycle emissions by up to 80%. Yet scaling production requires more than fuel innovation alone. As Founder and CEO of World Energy Gene Gebolys explains, new market tools such as SAF certificates and Book and Claim systems are reshaping how companies invest in cleaner flight – mobilising capital, bridging supply and demand, and accelerating aviation’s transition towards a net zero future.
Aviation drives global connectivity and economic growth, generating around 4% of global GDP. Yet it also contributes over 2% of global emissions. LanzaJet’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offers a direct route to decarbonising flight, cutting lifecycle emissions by around 80% while working seamlessly in existing aircrafts. Daniel Bloch, Director of Strategic Partnerships at LanzaJet explains how scaling this innovation can transform waste into cleaner fuel and accelerate aviation’s path to net zero.
Decarbonising aviation is a monumental challenge, but it’s also an opportunity of a lifetime to reimagine how we travel. The journey to net zero will see aircraft powered by new propulsion systems, more electric designs and sustainable aviation fuel, SAF. Haldane Dodd, Executive Director, Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) calls for continued collective action to scale SAF production, accelerate deployment of fuel-efficient aircraft and invest in next-generation technologies – ensuring aviation continues to drive global connectivity while helping safeguard the planet for future generations.
Nestlé is advancing a global shift towards regenerative agriculture – a model that restores soil, water and biodiversity while sustaining farmer livelihoods. As Taissara Abdala Martins, Agronomist and Head of ESG at Nestlé Brazil explains, the company is helping build a more resilient food system for future generations by working with more than 600,000 farming families and investing US$1.3 billion to ensure that 50% of its key ingredients come from regenerative sources by 2030.
Each year, northern India’s skies are cloaked in smoke after the rice harvest, releasing greenhouse gases and aggravating air pollution. Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, saw an opportunity to collaborate with farmers and entrepreneurs to build a supply chain that transforms agricultural waste into a valuable industrial resource, Gaurav Sarup, Chief Sustainability Officer at Vedanta Limited explains.
Electronics have transformed modern life, but their afterlife tells a different story – a mounting e-waste crisis, the now fastest growing waste stream on Earth, with fewer than a quarter properly recycled. This is not only unsustainable but a lost opportunity, as billions of recoverable materials are discarded each year. Tomaso Manca of Hiro Robotics shows that the same technologies driving rapid innovation can also help us close the loop. Robotics and artificial intelligence can help to disassemble, recover and repurpose valuable components that power our digital world.
Soaring electricity demand is straining a 20th-century grid built for a different world. Keith Norman, Chief Sustainability Officer at Lyten, argues that the energy transition hinges on new business models, not just new technology. From decentralised storage to 85% mining-free lithium–sulphur batteries, Lyten is reimagining energy infrastructure to enable abundant, cleaner power for the 21st century.
Woolcool is transforming sustainable packaging by harnessing wool – nature’s smart fibre – to replace plastic in temperature-sensitive logistics. Josie Morris, Woolcool CEO, gives a glimpse into the company’s story and impact of turning an agricultural by-product into low-carbon insulation that safeguards the environment and rural livelihoods. With sustainability firmly embedded in its DNA, Woolcool is ahead of regulatory shifts and market trends, proving that environmental responsibility can drive commercial success.
The construction sector accounts for 34% of global CO₂ emissions, yet remains fragmented and inefficient. Diana Carolina Flores de Casal, Chief Sustainability Officer at Grupo Avintia explains how industrialised construction can change this, combining automation, vertical integration and sustainable design. The results are lower emissions, waste and costs, faster delivery and scalable solutions that benefit residents, communities, governments, industry and the planet.
Shanta Holdings is redefining Bangladesh’s skyline with climate-smart, profitable urban development. By embedding green technologies and resource-conscious designs, Shanta has reduced energy and water costs in a resource-constrained environment, while enhancing long-term asset value. Its pioneering projects demonstrate that sustainability is not just a responsibility, it is an opportunity to attract global clients, deliver premium returns and build a resilient future.
Understanding complex environment and sustainability rules can mean the difference between being locked out of markets and being part of the climate transition. In this guest blog, Niki Lewis, Chief Sustainability Officer at Bext360, shows how their new AI tool can turn dense regulations into simple, mobile-first tasks, giving smallholders and cooperatives the opportunity to stay connected to global markets, while giving brands and regulators the credible data they need.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the global economy and indispensable to meeting the goals of the climate transition. Yet their voices remain under-represented in global negotiations. In this guest blog, Rachel Dignam from Sage explores how, in partnership with ICC, Sage has worked to ensure SMEs are heard at the climate table – from COP26 in Glasgow to COP30 in Belém.
The International Chamber of Commerce explores key climate and sustainability policy challenges – from scaling private finance in emerging markets to accelerating circular economy solutions. This includes commissioning in-depth analysis from leading organisations, offering data-driven insights for policymakers and business leaders.
On behalf of business and industry, ICC’s statement to the closing plenary of COP30 recognises a strong signal of collective support for the Paris Agreement but stresses the need for bold and urgent action, grounded in solutions that truly work for people, the economy and the planet.
Tackling climate change not only requires innovation and investment but also competition frameworks that are fit for the green transition. The ICC Call to Action on Antitrust for Climate Action urges policymakers to align antitrust policy with sustainability goals to unlock responsible cooperation and accelerate real-economy impact.
As momentum builds for collective climate and environmental action, understanding how companies can collaborate responsibly for sustainability purposes is moving to the centre of policy debates. This guide provides direction for businesses seeking to align sustainability cooperation with competition compliance.
ICC has issued a powerful statement as the official focal point for business and industry (BINGO) at COP30. Delivered by ICC Deputy Secretary General Andrew Wilson, the statement calls on ministers to seize the moment and forge an outcome capable of driving real-economy transformation by accelerating implementation, strengthening global alignment with the 1.5°C goal, and unlocking climate finance at scale — especially for emerging and developing economies.
As the official Focal Point for Business to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, ICC delivered the Business and Industry NGOs (BINGOs) Statement at the opening plenary of the 30th United Nations Climate Change conference (COP30).
To meet global climate goals, business ambition must be matched by credible frameworks for action. This ICC-commissioned Oxera report sets out 14 recommendations to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of voluntary carbon markets and mobilise private finance for climate action. When grounded in transparency, integrity and strong standards, voluntary carbon markets can enable businesses to invest credibly and confidently in a net-zero future.
Seeking nominations for a new independent expert panel, which will develop guidelines and implementation steps for a global carbon emissions accounting system based on financial accounting principles.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are vital to global climate action, yet access to green finance remains a major barrier to scaling their impact. This ICC–Sage report shows how digital and AI tools can help bridge this gap by simplifying reporting and boosting access to funding. It calls for five urgent actions – from streamlining reporting standards to expanding sustainability-linked finance – to accelerate SME climate action and make COP30 a turning point for green finance.
The permanent phase of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is set to begin on 1 January 2026, ending the current reporting-only period. businesses of all sizes across global value chains face continuing uncertainty as critical technical guidance remains unpublished. ICC calls for urgent clarity on the rules that will govern the definitive regime so businesses can plan effectively for 2026.
Basel III made the financial system sturdier after the 2008 crisis. But rules built to prevent a repeat of the last financial crisis now risk slowing the climate transition. Emerging markets need hundreds of billions annually for the world to meet climate targets and stay on a net-zero path. With rule clarifications, targeted adjustments and smart reforms, a unique opportunity presents itself to align financial stability with climate needs and unlock vital private capital.
ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton issues a vital message to climate ministers ahead of COP30 in Brazil, calling for investment-ready climate plans, a clear Global Goal on Adaptation, and a finance plan that unlocks private capital to drive growth, resilience and a just transition.
On behalf of businesses worldwide, ICC emphasised key priorities for a successful climate conference (COP30) in November 2025 in an official statement addressing the COP30 presidency and delegates at Pre-COP negotiations in Brasilia.
Trade finance underpins 80% to 90% of global trade, making it one of the most influential financial instruments in the world. Yet to date, it remains largely untapped as a tool for climate action. ICC, Boston Consulting Group and leading trade banks have developed the most comprehensive approach yet to assessing sustainability across the entire trade journey, paving the way for a new tool that could unlock trillions of dollars in climate finance.
Private finance for adaptation is lagging, with just 8% coming from business in 2022. The right policies can close this gap. At COP30, governments should make climate risk data open, weave private roles into National Adaptation Plans, and use procurement, regulation and innovative finance to reward resilience. Done well, adaptation will not be philanthropy but strategy – protecting economies and giving early movers an opportunity to shape markets.
Sage Foundation is supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime. In partnership with Village Capital, it welcomes 165 purpose-driven startups across Europe, the UK and the US, to shape a more sustainable, green and inclusive future.
As the frequency and severity of climate-related events escalate, there is a growing consensus that mitigation alone is insufficient. Adaptation must play a central role in securing resilience. To support this shift, the new ICC-commissioned Oxera report assesses how the private sector’s role in climate adaptation can be strengthened and scaled. The report is intended to inform ICC’s advocacy as the official UNFCCC Focal Point for Business and Industry in the lead-up to COP30 in Belém.
Targeted clarifications and reforms to the Basel Framework could unlock significant volumes of private investment in high-impact, climate-aligned projects in emerging markets and developing economies, while ensuring the continued soundness of the global financial system.
Since 2021, ICC has drawn on the experience of its global members to develop core principles and guidance for the effective design of carbon pricing instruments. In this third report, building on our past work, ICC provides guidance to governments and policymakers to address carbon leakage, promote linkage for greater international cooperation and make carbon pricing systems more efficient.
The stakes are once again high at the UN climate change conference COP29 happening in a year of record-breaking temperatures. Our eyes set on this year’s renewed focus on financing climate action, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) highlights key elements for establishing an ambitious, actionable and comprehensive New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.
A new report, commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce, estimates that climate-related extreme weather events have cost the global economy more than $2 trillion over the past decade.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, tools and insights at the intersection of business and the environment, including climate action, the circular economy, trade and environment, energy policy and sustainability.
