The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme of the European Commission funded this study aiming at the evaluation of design options for private sector engagement in the context of the UNFCCC to address the communication and knowledge gap between international climate negotiations and the private sector.
The report on Options for institutional engagement in the UNFCCC process was released by WBCSD, Ecofys and Climate Focus in September 2010. An executive summary provides an overview of the study.
Some of the conclusions of this project were:
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Governments are seeking to take global climate cooperation to the next level and the private sector must be part of the process. International negotiations need to be informed about how market forces should be harnessed within broader, sectoral and economy-wide emission reductions. Timely involvement of the private (for-profit and not-for-profit) sector can be an important factor in bringing about successful implementation of an international agreement. A structured, real and effective form of participation is needed for the private sector to ensure that its potential can be translated into tangible results;
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Efforts to move towards implementation require a more formalized way of engaging the business sector. The UNFCCC process currently witnesses a degree of informal business participation unique in international decision-making. But is there a better way to channel the talents and interest of business? The majority of financial resources and technological solutions are, or will be, provided by private companies. Their ability to interact and cooperate with government will, in large part, determine the level of success in building an effective international climate regime;
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Current participation lacks coordination, direction and output; and does not have clear entry points into the negotiations. The question is no longer "whether business is active and engaged," but rather "whether the engagement achieves the goal of informing the decision-making process to provide a workable institutional framework, armed with clear, viable, effective and efficient rules."
The preliminary findings of the project were presented in a Side Event in Bonn on June 10, 2010. The key findings of the report were presented in a Side Event organized by the European Union in Cancun on December 3, 2010.
The project has gone through a wide consultation process including interviews, meetings with the Advisory Board and five international workshops in Beijing (March 26), Hong Kong (March 29), São Paulo (April 14), Washington DC (April 27) and Brussels (May 6).
The workshops conveyed between 40 and 50 participants and the discussions are organized in roundtables to encourage broader participation and engagement. Participants responded to a set of questions, report back to the group and provide notes.
The project partners have developed some illustrative examples on what are the possible options for private sector engagement within a specific area of the international climate change policy process. We tested this initial thinking with expert and stakeholders during the workshops by addressing the questions of why business should engage, in which specific areas, how engagement would take place, and who would be represented. We welcome your comments and suggestions on these ideas.
For more information please contact Maria Mendiluce (mendiluce@wbcsd.org)