Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/26/2014
A large private sector presence, coupled with world leaders making significant commitments at the U.N. Climate Summit held this week in New York, could be the motivation the world needs to develop important low-carbon technologies at an accelerated pace, Janet Peace, Vice President of Markets and Business Strategy at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, told GHG Monitor this week. “The summit helped raise the profile of the need to act on climate, and also the opportunity to develop clean technologies to fuel our economy. Countries and companies announced new coalitions and initiatives to reduce methane emissions, mobilize investment in low-carbon technologies, expand access to renewable energy, and improve energy efficiency,” Peace said in a written response. “The summit acknowledged the key role business leaders play in investing in a low-carbon future. For example, Bank of America announced an initiative to spur at least $10 billion of new investment in clean energy projects.”
Among the coalitions and initiatives announced at the summit was the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition organized by the World Bank. This is noteworthy, Peace wrote, because of the potential market signals such carbon pricing would send to the private sector. “More than 1,000 businesses joined 73 countries and 22 states, provinces and cities in signing a World Bank statement in favor of a price on carbon emissions. That’s significant because putting a price on carbon pollution is the best way to cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage energy innovation,” she said.
Other announced commitments noted in the UN’s Climate Summit Summary include:
- A new coalition of governments, business, finance, multilateral development banks and civil society leaders announced their intent to mobilize over $200 billion for financing low-carbon and climate-resilient development.
- The European Union committed $3 billion for mitigation efforts in developing countries between 2014 and 2020, and a total of $18 billion for financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) announced that it is on track to increase direct green/climate financing to $100 billion a year for new climate finance activities by the end of 2015.
While these announcements suggest momentum, that forward motion needs to continue beyond the summit, Peace said. “The announcements this week—followed up by action—are significant. But we are still going to need government action at all levels to set the policies and goals that will enable us to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop clean energy, and boost resilience to climate impacts,” she said.
