President Jacob Zuma launches Durban Global Business Day

Zuma will give the South African perspective on the role of climate finance; he will also speak on the importance of global collaboration to address climate change challenges. Zuma’s speech precedes Global Business Day on December 5, an annual event hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and this year, the National Business Initiative (NBI).

Business leaders from all sectors will convene for Global Business Day which will address the role of business in creating meaningful change, and will focus on the intersection of climate, business and growth. The event will take the form of panel discussions, debates and networking opportunities.

Thierry Berthoud, Managing Director Energy & Climate Focus Area, WBCSD said: “Global Business Day was conceived as a way to get businesses, from the developed and the developing world, together to explore their role in the climate change challenge, and identify concrete ways in which they can contribute to a solution. Together with our co-hosts we have worked with a diverse range of companies and this has enabled us to take into account a wide variety of concerns. This is allowing for the development of more robust and inclusive responses.”

Jean-Guy Carrier, Secretary General, ICC said: “We are delighted to be hosting the fifth Global Business Day. Greening the world economy is a long-term effort involving all aspects of the economy. This process must address increasing environmental impacts and support progress on social development while delivering business value and commercially-viable products and services.”

Cas Coovadia, Chairman, NBI said: “Climate change is a critical and concrete factor in the reality of the lives of millions of Africans. Our challenge is to strengthen the ordinary citizen’s resilience to climate change so that they can better deal with the imperatives of daily life. The Global Business Day is one way in which we can work towards achieving this.”

Prominent speakers include Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, President elect COP 17/CMP 7; Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC; Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD; Jean-Guy Carrier, Secretary General, ICC; Cas Coovadia, Chair, NBI; and Peter Bakker, President-elect, WBCSD.

Durban Global Business Day will take place during the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban at which delegates will review and evaluate governments’ commitments to addressing global climate change and to building effective institutions to support real action.

Global Business Day is sponsored by SASOL, ESKOM, The Coca Cola Company and ICMM.

n.b. This event is by invitation only.

For more information on COP 17, visit the UN Climate Change Conference.

For more inforamtion on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development visit the WBCSD pages.

For more informaiton on the National Business Initiative visit the NBI pages.