Sustainability
ICC Secretary General echoes global call for increased climate ambition
As the United Nations (UN) High-Level Political Forum takes place in New York, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO called on governments to step up their national climate plans by 2020.
Last month, 23 countries agreed a Declaration for Ambition, stating a shared commitment to stepping up climate action plans by 2020. As the UN’s High-Level Political Forum this year focuses on a climate-centric set of Sustainable Development Goals such as clean water, renewable energy, responsible consumption and life on land, ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO has issued the following message:
“As the world’s largest business organisation and the voice of the private sector in the United Nations (UN) climate process, ICC wholeheartedly welcomes and reaffirms the call to increase the ambition and accelerate the pace of global climate action.
“A failure to address climate change will hurt us all. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has stated, countries must go beyond the bare minimum and take transformative action if we are to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
“The global business community is also eager to increase the pace of climate action. We need a common framework for climate policies to give business the certainty needed to increase investment and ensure a level playing field internationally. ICC welcomes the Declaration for Ambition’s call to all governments to ensure that the Paris Rulebook is adopted at COP24 and encourages governments to work with the private sector on a policy framework at both the international and national level to help us reach our climate goals.
“Climate change is a global challenge that requires a global solution. More than ever, we call on all countries to renew their commitment to ambitious multilateralism and international rules-based decision making. Only by working together can we secure a more sustainable future.”