G20 china_web

Climate change and green finance
$5TN
Estimated annual funds needed
for a low-carbon economy
10BN
Metric tonnes of carbon dioxide
per year that business could cut
BRENT LEWIN/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
ASB Biodiesel's
waste-to-biodiesel plant
in Hong Kong
together the entire value chain for
sustainable fuels, which produce at least
50 per cent less carbon emissions than
conventional fossil fuels. below50 is
scaling up the global market to unlock
the economic benefits, expected to exceed
$185 billion in the next five years.
LCTPi demonstrates the importance of
collaboration. Its companies and partners
are working together on climate solutions
that could never be delivered by a single
company on its own.
An independent impact analysis by
PwC shows that the LCTPi plans could
deliver up to 65 per cent of the emissions
reduction necessary to stop the world from
warming beyond 2 degrees Celsius.
Scaling up new and existing
technologies will also redirect trillions
of green investment dollars. LCTPi could
stimulate between $5 and 10 trillion of
investment into the low carbon economy
while creating between 25 and 45 million
jobs each year.
The Business End of Climate, a report
by We Mean Business, shows how bold
climate action, supported by smart policy,
can keep the temperature rise below
Peter
Bakker
President and CEO
World Business Council
for Sustainable
Development
Peter Bakker joined the World
Business Council for Sustainable
Development as President and CEO
in 2012. Previously he was the CEO
of TNT NV, the Netherlands-based
holding company of TNT Express
and Royal TNT Post (formerly
TPG Post). Under his leadership,
TNT entered a ground-breaking
partnership with the World
Food Programme, set ambitious
emission reduction targets from its
Planet Me initiative and held multiyear
leading positions in the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index.
@MPB_WBCSD
www.wbcsd.org
2 degrees Celsius. It examines five
initiatives that companies have joined to
address climate change: Science-Based
Targets, EP100, RE100, Zero Deforestation
and LCTPi.
The analysis shows what would happen
if these five initiatives achieved their most
ambitious plans, effectively constituting
a “business-determined contribution”.
By 2030, business would cut its emissions
by 3.7 billion metric tonnes of carbon
dioxide equivalent a year – half a tonne
of carbon dioxide for every person on
the planet, every year. If all the relevant
companies signed up to these initiatives,
the total impact could reach 10 billion
tonnes every year. Imagine the further
potential if Chinese companies, currently
underrepresented in these initiatives, were
to contribute their leadership and expertise.
Such analysis shows that business
is the best implementation partner for
governments as they strive to hit their
climate targets. National and local
governments should turn to business to
help make their climate commitments real.
Global initiatives
The element of partnership is vital. A
reduction of 10 billion tonnes a year
is significant, but not enough. Neither
business nor government can achieve the
needed reductions by acting independently.
Success will depend equally on
governments playing their part at the local
and national levels. Every country will need
to tailor its policies to its unique context
and requirements. Governments will also
need to work together around the world to
address this inherently global challenge.
The proposed financial commitments
of the Paris Agreement must be efficiently
and effectively mobilised. Private sector
funds must be leveraged to fully finance
the required transformation. An estimated
$90 trillion is needed over the next 15 years.
That is $5 trillion per year – more than half
of China’s annual gross domestic product
– that must be directed towards the low
carbon economy.
Now is the time to turn ambition into
implementation. Companies, including
Chinese businesses, must join the global
initiatives. Financiers must unlock capital
that will drive solutions. Governments and
business must work together to help these
initiatives achieve their targets.
By 2020 we can significantly bend the
curve of global emissions downwards, even
before the Paris Agreement is expected to
come into effect. G20
G7G20.com September 2016 • G20 China: The Hangzhou Summit 197