Coalition News

Nearly Twenty Canadian Companies Sign On to Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

Nearly Twenty Canadian Companies Sign On to Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

Nearly twenty Canadian companies signed on today to join the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), which brings together governments, businesses, and civil society groups to identify and address the key challenges to successfully using carbon pricing as a way to combat climate change.

CPLC Brings Carbon Pricing Dialogue to The Pacific Alliance

President Bachelet Speaks at the Pacific Alliance summit 2016

The CPLC, in partnership with the Government of Chile and with the support of The Prince of Wales Corporate Leaders Group, held a high-level dialogue among private sector and government leaders on June 30 in Santiago, Chile to discuss carbon pricing and regional green growth. The event was held in the context of the Pacific Alliance Summit - during which Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru agreed to initiate a new environmental working group to promote regional green growth - and followed a series of technical workshops on carbon pricing organized by the Program for Market Readiness project in Chile.

Participants in the CPLC dialogue highlighted the value of carbon pricing policies as a tool to support collaborative green growth, in addition to meeting emissions reduction targets and achieving low carbon development objectives. Furthermore, the discussion emphasized the need for business-government partnerships to catalyze clean and efficient private sector growth, at scale.

President Bachelet delivered the keynote address, emphasizing that green growth is neither a luxury or privilege. Rather, it is a key pillar for development in the 21st century, driving innovation throughout the economy. Citing examples in clean energy production and storage, waste recycling, and pollution taxes, President Bachelet encouraged participants to collaborate in public-private platforms such as the CPLC and through the Pacific Alliance and identify green growth strategies that improve welfare of all people in this and future generations.

CPLC Participates in the Climate Business Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean in Bogota, Colombia

During the Climate Business Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean that took place in June, the CPLC convened a leadership lunch with the Vice Minister of Finance of Colombia - Mr. Andrés Escobar and about 30 business leaders from Latin America, including 10 CEOs from large regional groups.

The objective of the dialogue was to provide regional business leaders the opportunity to engage with the Government of Colombia, as a member of the Pacific Alliance, to discuss the growing momentum to use carbon pricing policies to achieve climate and fiscal policy goals. Participants also discussed the opportunities for improved regional collaboration and future carbon pricing pathways for the region. Moving forward, CPLC will continue supporting the engagement of the Colombian government and businesses in the ongoing carbon pricing dialogue taken place in the context of the Pacific Alliance and a potential American regional market.

The Forum, attended by over 200 Latin American business leaders, served as an important convening platform for business leaders from around the region and other emerging markets who are steering their companies towards new business models that capitalize on climate-smart practices and initiatives.

Colombia’s Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas opens at the Climate Business Forum 2016

Heads of State and CEOs Declare Support for Carbon Pricing to Transform Global Economy

PARIS, November 30, 2015 –  Six heads of state and government and the leaders of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund today called on companies and countries to follow up on their ambitions for Paris by putting a price on carbon to drive investment for a cleaner, greener future.

In a remarkable show of unity on the first day of the climate talks in Paris, heads of state and government from a number of countries called on the world to start pricing carbon pollution as a key to combatting climate change and transforming the global economy. The heads of state and government included the leaders of France, Chile, Ethiopia, Germany, Mexico and Canada.  

 “The goal is to gradually set a sufficiently high carbon price around the world to encourage better behaviour,” said H.E. President François Hollande of France. In France, the Energy Transition Act has already made provision for a substantial increase in the price of carbon, to €22 per metric tonne next year and a projected €100 by 2030. In Europe, we will also improve our carbon market while ensuring that the most compliant countries remain competitive. Very quickly, a company consuming less CO2 should gain a decisive competitive advantage.”

The call by heads of state and government was echoed by ministers and CEOs from around the world at another event today in Paris to officially launch the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC). The Coalition brings together key governments such as Mexico, Germany, France, Chile and California, along with nearly 90 global businesses and NGOs. 

Partners in the Coalition have adopted an agreed course of action that advances carbon pricing by collecting and sharing the best evidence of successful carbon pricing policy, mobilizing business support for more ambitious action, and convening leadership dialogues around the world with the goal of tackling the political challenges that prevent greater use of carbon pricing. 

“We are seeing increasing momentum from heads of state and other global leaders to put a price on carbon pollution, but more action is needed to cut harmful polluting emissions,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “These statements of support from leaders today are critically important, as is the work of Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition. We must ensure that this momentum for carbon pricing translates into impact on the ground.”

"A successful outcome to the Paris climate talks will send a powerful message that nations can work together for the good of the planet,” said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. The right carbon price should be at the center of this effort. Indeed, given the slump in energy prices, there has never been a better time to transition to smart, credible and effective carbon pricing. Policy makers need to price it right, tax it smart, and do it now."
 

Ahead of the Paris talks more than 90 developed and developing countries, including the European Union, have indicated plans to use international, regional, or domestic carbon pricing schemes for mitigation action.  

Pricing carbon can deliver multiple benefits including reducing health and environmental impacts, like premature deaths from exposure to outdoor air pollution. It provides governments with the financing needed to support sustainable development as well as spurring greater investments in low carbon growth. Through carbon pricing, countries can provide an incentive for businesses and investors to reduce their exposure to carbon, while accelerating investments in clean energy, clean transport and clean technologies.

About 40 nations and 23 cities, states and regions have implemented or are putting a price on carbon with programs and mechanisms covering about 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The coverage is expected to grow given China’s recent announcement to bring in a national emissions trading system in 2017.

A recent World Bank report, State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2015, shows the number of implemented or planned carbon pricing schemes around the world has almost doubled since 2012 and are now worth about $50 billion.

BG Group joins Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition

Courtesy of BG Group:

BG Group today announces it has joined the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), an initiative which brings together over 85 governments, corporate and civil society organisations to collaborate on carbon pricing systems and policies.

The Group’s entry to the CPLC coincides with the company’s decision to also make public the internal carbon screening values it uses when reviewing investment decisions.

BG Group has been valuing carbon internally for a number of years, to plan for the cost of carbon emissions under existing carbon pricing regimes, and the impact of future carbon pricing systems, on its projects.

Valuing carbon on projects has enabled the Group to identify design options which improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

These carbon screening values are now available on the BG Group web site – www.bg-group.com/658/sustainability/valuing-our-environment-and-climate/climate-change/carbon-pricing/.

Helge Lund, BG Group Chief Executive, commented:    

"Carbon pricing will be a critical component in the world’s battle to tackle climate change. Putting a price on carbon will reflect its cost to society. It creates transparency among carbon producers, and will encourage the development of more efficient carbon reduction technologies. BG Group has today joined the CPLC and made public the carbon screening values we use when evaluating new investment, to assist in developing, and expanding the evidence base for, effective carbon pricing systems."

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Five months after the UN Climate Leadership Summit, with its unprecedented call to action for putting a price on carbon, low oil prices have provoked governments to look again at whether they have prices right and to consider how to exploit a golden opportunity to reset signals within their economies for lower-carbon growth.