Geneva, 22 September 2019: Today, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched a new policy paper which reflects the latest thinking from business on carbon pricing as a key enabler to support the urgent efforts required to drive the transition towards a low carbon future and achieving the 1.5 °C climate goal.
Coming on the eve of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit calling for increased climate ambition by all, the policy paper presents reasons why business supports carbon pricing as a critical enabler to raise climate ambition.
The paper highlights some major considerations that need to be managed in the design and developments of carbon pricing mechanisms, making important references to the recently launched report on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness by the High-Level Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness (Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition). It also sheds light on the role of natural climate solutions as a scalable carbon removal technology that can be leveraged by the private sector and governments to reduce atmospheric emissions.
WBCSD and its members strongly believe that effective carbon pricing policies that ensure environmental integrity, provide a low-cost approach to reducing greenhouses (GHGs) that can deliver deep emission reductions and maintain competitiveness, create jobs, encourage innovation, enable investment, create value to solutions and minimize social costs.
Globally, an increasing number of jurisdictions are implementing or planning to implement a carbon pricing mechanism. However, the evidence shows that many more will need to implement such mechanisms in order to redirect investments at the pace and scale needed to drive the deep decarbonization across all sectors of the global economy and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
“WBCSD is a long-time supporter of carbon pricing as one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of driving deep decarbonization. Carbon pricing will be critical to bring us on track to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 aligned with the 1.5°C scenarios,” said Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD.
As governments gear up to announce revised national climate commitments, the paper calls for governments to put on a price on carbon and develop clear and consistent long-term carbon pricing policies as part of their national commitments and long-term strategies. These will support the accelerated transition towards a decarbonized future and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“There is a global consensus about the need for carbon pricing as a means to price externalities,” said María Mendiluce, Managing Director at WBCSD. “Now is time for the business community to strongly call for carbon pricing regimes and long-term policies that place a cost on carbon emissions. Carbon pricing will enable sustainable business be more successful”.
The WBCSD ‘Policy paper on carbon pricing’ is available online here.
Please contact Karl Vella at vella@wbcsd.org for further information.
