26 November 2019

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will join world leaders at the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) to advocate for higher climate ambition.

As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Focal Point for Business and Industry, ICC will be at COP25 in Madrid from 2-13 December as the official voice of business throughout the negotiations. Working with policymakers, business leaders and all stakeholders to ICC will advocate for policy frameworks that address the urgent need to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C and transition to an inclusive and sustainable net-zero emissions future.

Here’s how ICC will mobilise business leaders at COP25 in Madrid:

BINGO Briefings

ICC will host daily business and industry briefings, known as BINGO Briefings, every day of the negotiations throughout COP25. All business professionals attending COP25 are welcome to attend.

Each briefing will be chaired by a business representative and delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions about the negotiation process, or exchange information from sessions that they were unable to attend in person. These daily briefings will occur every day from 9:00-10:00 (except Sundays).

BINGO Day

ICC will host the official annual COP25 Business and Industry Day (BINGO Day) on 6 December 2019 from 13:15-18:30.

In collaboration with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), with the support of the BNP Paribas Foundation and the World Bank Group, BINGO Day will feature a high-level opening session with three consecutive panel sessions discussing how the private and public sectors can move beyond business as usual and lead for a net zero future.

Key stakeholders including climate change champions, government representatives, economists and scientists, as well as business leaders, will consider the main challenges and opportunities as we approach the critical 2020 climate milestone.

Chambers Climate Coalition

In June, ICC launched the Chambers Climate Coalition, an unprecedented mobilisation of local business leaders who have committed to take action aligned with the Paris Agreement and the latest climate science. At the UN Climate Action Summit in September, ICC Secretary General, John W.H. Denton AO announced that over 2,100 chambers of commerce and local business leaders had joined the coalition.

ICC will highlight the success of the Chambers Climate Coalition at COP 25 to encourage as many local business leaders as possible to join this movement in the lead up to COP26 in Glasgow next year, and amplify the clear call to action from business to policymakers that governments must enhance climate ambition and action.

NDC Partnership Roundtable

As the only private sector member of the NDC Partnership, ICC will also be teaming up with the NDC Partnership to host a workshop to explore how business can work with government to develop, implement and review country NDCs.

The event entitled How Can Business Support Governments on their Journey to Enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions? will be held on 12 December 2019 from 15:00-16:00 in the NDC Partnership Pavilion.

Trade and Climate Consultation series

At this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), ICC launched a consultation series to discuss the alignment of trade and climate policies. The first consultation took place on the sidelines of UNGA with Jim Bacchus, author of The Willing World: Shaping and Sharing a Sustainable Global Prosperity and chairman of the ICC Commission on Trade and Investment Policy, who presented the case for a WTO climate waiver, as well as the necessary steps to put such a waiver in place.

As part of the second consultation, Genevieve Pons, Brussels Director of the Jacques Delors Institute, led a discussion on the applicability of carbon clubs, as a mechanism for advancing climate and trade policies. This week, ICC will host Rodolfo Lacy, Director for the Environment Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for a discussion on whether border adjustment taxes (BAT) can promote trade and climate policies.

ICC will host the fourth and final trade and climate consultation on carbon pricing at COP 25. So far, these consultations have offered business leaders, policymakers and academics a forum for engagement and detailed discussions on breaking down existing barriers between the trade and climate policy frameworks.

Business for Nature

In 2020, world leaders have a unique opportunity to forge international agreements to reverse nature loss as they did for climate in the 2015 Paris Agreement. ICC is one of the partners of Business for Nature and we invite all business leaders to participate in a number of events to learn more about what your business can do to help contribute to nature protection, restoration and sustainability.

Learn more about ICC’s participation at COP 25.

Read ICC’s key messages and 7 essential reads ahead of COP 25.