ICC welcomes finalisation of Paris Rulebook at COP24 climate conference

“The Paris Rulebook is a clear signal that climate change remains high on the political agenda but it also demonstrates that inclusive multilateralism works,” said ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton.

“The tireless work of the COP24 President and his team, assisted by the UN Secretary General and the UNFCCC secretariat, has paid off, successfully bridging diverse government positions to conclude negotiations with a Rulebook that will implement the 2015 Paris Agreement.”

Majda Dabaghi who led the ICC delegation on behalf of 45 million companies worldwide said: “We are delighted to welcome the Paris Rulebook, especially in light of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, which implores us to raise ambition. ICC is committed to working with business of all sizes, governments and indeed all stakeholders, to raise the ambition of the nationally determined contributions.”

“While we are disappointed that the Parties were unable to complete the section of the Rulebook related to Article 6 (co-operative approaches, a new market mechanism and non-market-based approaches), this result demonstrates to the global business community and society as a whole that efforts to tackle climate change are moving forward. This will give impetus to businesses everywhere to continue to enhance their actions and investments. We’re greatly looking forward to the completion of work on Article 6 next year.”

Business demonstrated the positive actions that it is taking to raise ambitions to reduce emissions as well as to increase investments at numerous events during the climate talks. Many businesses are aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050. For many companies the recent IPCC report on 1.5°C has become the new reference in guiding actions and long-term strategies, and reinforcing the need for a just transition for workers during the global transformations to come.