'Real urgency required': Business leaders urge G20 to act now on climate change

G20 leaders must develop clear policy and regulatory frameworks to enable the business community to help accelerate the transition to a carbon neutral world, according to a new set of recommendations published yesterday by some of the world's top business leaders.

The call comes from the B20 group of businesses, the official voice of the global business community to the G20, which this week submitted 25 policy recommendations to G20 leaders in a report tiled Realizing Opportunities for the 21st Century for All

The report, which outlines an action plan for kickstarting the global economy in the wake of the Covid pandemic, places a strong emphasis on tackling climate change, mitigating its effects, and paving the way for carbon neutrality.

It urges world leaders to develop clear, enabling regulatory and financial policy frameworks that support the shift towards carbon neutrality in the second half of the 20th century, in line with the Paris Agreement.

It also calls for governments to help strengthen the climate resilience of infrastructure by developing strategies for developing new or retrofitting existing infrastructure so it can better withstand climate hazards, drawing on risk assessment tools, transparent standards, and innovative financing vehicles.

And the group addresses unsustainable water use, calling for policies and guidelines that promote the sustainable use of both freshwater systems and the oceans.

The report's recommendations are drawn from the B20's engagement with more than 650 business leaders across the G20 through the past year.

"The opportunity is to 'build back better', with real urgency required from policymakers and business leaders," said Yousef Al-Benyan, Chair of B20 Saudi Arabia. "I urgently call on the G20 Leaders to adopt these policy recommendations in order to prevent the pandemic from causing further damage, while setting the foundation for a more equitable world."

The policy recommendations will be formally presented to the G20 during the B20 virtual Summit on 26-27 October, where global leaders from business, academia and civil society will discuss pressing issues such as post-pandemic recovery and transitioning towards a cleaner, resilient and more digitally enabled future. The annual G20 summit will then take place on 21-22 November, where Saudi Arabia will assume the G20 presidency.

It comes at a time when a number of leading governments have developed ambitious green recovery plans in a bid to revive their economies and put the world on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Both Germany and France unveiled multi-billion Euro green stimulus packages this summer and the UK government is reportedly poised to follow suit at the end of this month. Meanwhile, China recently announced a new target to peak emissions by 2030 and deliver net zero emissions by 2060.

However, at the same time some governments have resisted calls to deliver green recovery packages and appear reluctant to set net zero emission targets for their economies. Some observers fear Saudi Arabia could use its stint as President of the G20 to sideline the issue at international talks in the crucial run up to the COP26 Summit in Glasgow next year.

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• Topics
• Policy
• Politics
• B20
• G20
• ethical business
• Saudi Arabia
• net zero transition