Business and government leaders to discuss climate action

In the lead-up to the COP21 meetings in Paris, business and industry in Australia have been greatly exercised as they discuss the drivers for a stable long-term climate policy and debate how the Australian Government's commitment to the UNFCC will impact them going forward.

Industry action on climate change has been a long time in the making, with many leading Australian businesses taking independent action in developing and implementing their own climate and carbon strategies as part of their business productivity, risk, resilience and sustainability strategies. For companies and sectors operating in a global market, evolving national and international climate policy has thrown into focus the impact of business exposure to climate action, which will undoubtedly weigh on prices and volumes for exports of emissions-intensive resources and products. Australia’s emissions-intensive trade sectors are particularly vulnerable to this proposition.

Globally, over 680 corporates and multinationals and 195 investors have already signed up to the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action — an initiative launched as part of the Lima Paris Agenda in Lima last year — signifying the growing consensus for business action on climate change. This commitment integrates environmental imperatives with the value proposition for business to reduce environmental impact, enhance energy efficiency and deliver strong economic growth for shareholders while fulfilling national social and community goals in a low-carbon economy.

The Carbon Abatement Forum, being held in Sydney from 27–29 October, will bring together some of the business and industry leaders who have led action on GHG abatement with policymakers and other stakeholders to share experience and strategic insights on climate action and find common ground for a climate policy that will meet economic, community and environmental goals. Among them will be representatives of the Australian Climate Roundtable, which brings together a broad coalition of organisations from business, research, environment, investor and social groups for concerted action on climate change.

Attendees will examine the opportunities and strategies for abatement in the context of business exposure and climate risk, opportunity and commercial impact, and assess the institutional, market, regulatory and financing mechanisms and structures that will drive decarbonisation. Climate policy, risk and adaptation, and the growing global carbon market will be examined in the context of the impact on business and the economy in Australia. Presenting at the conference will be speakers from multiple industry organisations and government agencies, including the Climate Change Authority, Orora, Incitec Pivot, Sydney Water, the Department of the Environment, Westpac, Transforce, AGL, Hydro Tasmania, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australian Industry Group, the Clean Energy Regulator, CO2CRC, ACALET, the Aboriginal Carbon Fund and many others.

If you are leading, developing or managing your organisation’s carbon, sustainability or climate strategy and would like to hear what your counterparts are doing across sectors to innovate, implement and drive strategy, then join sector leaders and your peers at the Carbon Abatement Forum in Sydney.

For full conference details, please download the agenda here.