Congratulations World
Leaders, on securing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But we're not
going to achieve them unless we take action on climate change.
Organisations working
with more than 6,000,000 companies around the world want an ambitious climate
deal at COP21 in Paris this December. More leading companies and investors
are taking climate action more than ever before.
We are moving because
taking action is scaling-up clean energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in
line with the climate science, creating jobs and unleashing low-carbon
innovation. Simply put: climate action is good for business. And governments
can help us all go further-and faster. We ask governments to commit to
securing an ambitious agreement in Paris that:
Decarbonises the
global economy over the course of this century; Regularly updates and improves government commitments;
Ensures accountability and transparency through clear rules; Sends clear
policy signals, such as carbon pricing mechanisms and incentives to shift
trillions of dollars toward low-carbon, climate-resilient investment; Reduces
the vulnerability and strengthens the resilience of economies and communities
to climate impacts.
The transition to
a low-carbon economy is inevitable, irreversible and irresistible. An
ambitious global agreement at COP21 will catalyse business action to
reduce emissions and build climate resilience.
Together, we can
forge a clean, predictable and transformative path toward a safe and
prosperous future.
The SDGs represent,
without doubt, the most ambitious development agenda ever forged at the
international level. They set out an essential road map to address some of the
world’s most pressing and intractable problems, from extreme poverty through to
climate change.
Simply put, we all -- as
global citizens -- have an interest in making the SDGs an unprecedented and
unmitigated success.
The international
development agenda is sometimes narrowly construed as a matter for government
alone, but it is clear that effective implementation of the SDGs will require
widespread business support.
To take one angle:
official estimates place the annual investment gap in sustainable development
in developing markets at up to US$2.5trillion annually. It is anticipated that
shortfall will need to be filled by private capital. In other areas, business
expertise and innovation will be key if we are to limit greenhouse gas
emissions, create new jobs, and promote sustainable consumption cycles.
That is why we are
calling on our governments and leaders to commit to working actively and
constructively with the private sector to deliver on the promise of the new
“Global Goals”.
Many businesses are
already playing a leading role in promoting sustainable development, but with
the right support and incentives from government we can do much more. A
collaborative effort is also required to enable the transformation of business
practices toward sustainability more broadly -- including within the small
business sector.
With respect to the
proposed set of indicators aimed at underpinning the UN SDGs and their related
Targets, ICC would like to underscore the following points:
· The UN SDGs are cross-cutting in nature and
often interconnected, which means that measures on one goal will have impact on
the outcome of another goal. This point should be carefully reflected in the
choice and design of indicators.
· Indicators should be chosen and designed to
monitor progress made in shaping and implementing policy measures aimed at
achieving the UN SDGs, rather than only considering end-results in absolute
terms.
· It should be noted that the SDGs are global in
scope, and apply to broad political and macro-economic situations which require
the aggregation of a number of micro indicators at the company or organisation
level.
In addition, ICC would
like to emphasise that the selection and design of indicators should:
· Take into account and reflect the cross-cutting
nature of innovation and the potential role that inclusive/ social innovation
and innovation for sustaining growth can play to help achieve the UN SDGs and
Targets.
· Consider and adequately reflect the importance
of creating and maintaining policy environments to support
entrepreneurship at all levels (including SMEs and start-up companies) to
contribute to sustainable growth
· Adequately reflect that through adequate
policy measures, technology developments supporting sustainable production and
efficiency improvements can scale-up and allow better lives for all.
· Adopt a holistic approach in the choice of
indicators to tackle the SDGs goals and avoid one-size fits-all approaches, to
help ensure there are no unintended consequences from one set of
indicators on other areas
· Facilitate easy, transparent and affordable
reporting
· Enable coordinated and aligned monitoring of
policy measures aimed at engaging all actors in the economy in actions tackling
the challenges mirrored in the UN SDGs
· Reflect that UN SDGs relate to challenges that
can only be met through the combined efforts of all relevant actors in the
economy
· Underscore the key role that public-private
stakeholder cooperation can play in support of the SDGs, especially with
respect to Goal 17 (and its Targets 17.16 and 17.17) and the importance of
non-financial support mechanisms, both in intra-business and multi-stakeholder
efforts.
While the SDGs address
many complex issues, our message is simple: let us work together to seize this
once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a brighter and more prosperous
future for all.
International Chamber
of Commerce, ICC, is the world business organisation whose mission is to
promote open trade and investment and help business meet the challenges and
opportunities of an increasingly integrated economy.
With interest spanning
every sector of private enterprise, ICC’s global network comprises over 6
million companies and business associations in more than 130 countries. ICC
members work through national committees in their countries, such as ICC Ghana,
to address business concerns and convey ICC views to their respective
governments.
ICC conveys
international business views and priorities through active engagements with the
United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the G20 and other
intergovernmental forums.
Close to 3,000 experts
drawn from ICC member-companies feed their knowledge and experience into
crafting the ICC stance on specific business issues.
Emmanuel Doni-Kwame MD,
WTC Accra & Secretary-General, ICC Ghana
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