Business leaders launch Copenhagen Communiqué

Bosses at over 500 of the world's largest firms will today officially launch the Copenhagen Communiqué, calling on world leaders to agree "an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change" at the forthcoming UN talks in Copenhagen, which " responds credibly to the scale and urgency of the crisis facing the world today ".

A copy of the two-page Communiqué, which warns unequivocally that businesses will be damaged and the global economic recovery put at risk if a global deal is not agreed at Copenhagen, will be distributed to the 100 world leaders attending today's UN General Assembly meeting on climate change in New York.

Developed by the Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and endorsed by a raft of green NGOs, the Communiqué offers arguably the clearest indication yet of the scale of support amongst the business community for an ambitious international climate change deal.

"These are difficult and challenging times for the international business community and a poor outcome from the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen will only make them more so, by creating uncertainty and undermining confidence, " the document states, adding that "economic development will not be sustained in the longer term unless the climate is stabilised".

The document also sets out detailed proposals designed to break the deadlock between rich and poor nations over how any Copenhagen Agreement should be structured.

It calls for the treaty to be guided by the latest climate science and commit to emissions cuts of between 50 and 85 per cent by 2050, as part of efforts to limit global warming to two degrees. It also argues that developed countries should agree to take on "immediate and deep emission reduction commitments", while emerging economies such as China and India should adopt formal emission reduction plans with a view to agreeing to binding targets by 2020.

In addition, it recommends that governments agree to an immediate interim " emergency package" to help fund forestry protection efforts in the developing world and also commit to annual funding of between $100 and $200bn a year to help poorer nations adopt low-carbon technologies. The group says that such costs "are manageable, even in the current economic climate" and predicts that the "more ambitious the framework, the more business will deliver".

The Communiqué has been signed by over 500 businesses, including a raft of some of the world's most high-profile firms, such as Adidas, Barclays, British Airways, BT, BP, Coca-Cola, Gap Inc., General Electric, HP, HSBC, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Tesco and Virgin Group, to name but a few.

Craig Bennett, co-director of Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, said that the scale of the support for the Communiqué should increase pressure on governments to agree a meaningful deal at December's meeting in Copenhagen.

"It has been extraordinary to see the level of support that has come in from the international business community for the Copenhagen Communiqué – from companies in the developed and developing world, across all sectors, ranging from the world’s largest companies and best-known brands to small and medium-sized enterprises," he said. "If it is possible for such a variety of companies to agree on the basic shape of an ambitious, robust and equitable global deal on climate change – surely it should now be possible for the world’s governments to do the same?"