COP26

How Will You Personally Contribute to a #Greenerfuture?

April 2022 Business

Barbara Uranjek

CEO, BRITISH-SLOVENIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

We, at the British-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce, asked managers of some large companies how they personally contributed to a greener planet. Their answers included using glass instead of plastic, driving electric cars, powering their offices with renewable energy, not littering, and avoiding air travel when possible. Managers lead by example, but we all need to start shifting our mindsets, and to think about our carbon footprint every day.

Limiting the increase of temperature should be persuaded by every individual, but it needs to be led by governments. That’s why climate negotiators sat together day and night for two weeks of intense talks in Glasgow at the COP26 Climate Change Summit, with consensus on urgently accelerating climate action. COP26 brought together tens of thousands of delegates from 196 countries, along with youth and indigenous leaders, civil society groups and businesses – the biggest international Summit the UK has ever hosted!

The outcome of the summit, the Glasgow Pact, will speed up the pace of climate action this decade, with all countries agreeing to submit improved emissions targets in 2022 as well as to doubling, by 2025, the financing available for climate change adaptation. For a historic first time, the COP decision included a position on scaling down the use of fossil fuels and coal, and on supporting climate vulnerable countries.

BARBARA URANJEK, CEO, BRITISH-SLOVENIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
As the world digests the Glasgow Climate Pact and other outcomes of COP26, it is clear that the combined commitments of countries and sectoral coalitions, while a substantial step forward, fell short of expectations. That said, it had been clear from the onset that building consensus among 197 nations with as many different agendas was going to be a challenge, so the major involvement of business and finance in Glasgow represented a significant achievement. We will need greater ambition, and the current COP commitments must be translated into action. This will be led by business, with boards making bold investment decisions to direct capital where it will have the most impact. But most importantly, we need to work on our mindset, and to start thinking about our carbon foot-print in our everyday habits.
So, think about how you can contribute to a #greenerfuture!

THE ADRIATIC

This article was originally published in The Adriatic: Strategic Foresight 2022
If you want a copy, please contact us at info@adriaticjournal.com.