Event summary of our Transatlantic Business Roundtable at COP 27, 11.11.2022
This was the slogan for one of our events at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh on 11 November 2022. As part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the German Federal Foreign Office and in collaboration with our partners adelphi and We Mean Business Coalition, we organized a roundtable on the topics of G7 climate leadership for industry transformation, energy security and social cohesion. The roundtable was attended by transatlantic and Japanese business leaders and high-level policymakers to discuss the way forward for the G7 climate policy in 2023 and how transatlantic climate collaboration can combine strength and foster cooperation.
The event served both to reflect on the state of play at the end of the German G7 presidency and to look forward to the upcoming Japanese presidency in 2023. Looking at how businesses and governments can work together to emerge stronger from the crisis and how transatlantic climate cooperation can raise ambition at the G7 level, participants identified key takeaways in five areas.
Below we have briefly outlined one key takeaway from each of the five focus areas.
Creating common standards and understanding is the cue. Many participants identified harmonization of production standards among production standards in G7 countries and clear communication of ongoing work on standards to companies and manufacturers as key challenges. G7 governments and companies must therefore stand together to create a common understanding of green products.
G7 governments need to drive the development of markets for industrial decarbonization. This means finding buyers who will create demand for low-emission products and creating incentives to lower premiums so that near-zero-emission goods are cheaper and more competitive to produce. An inclusive climate club, or rather a climate alliance, where progressive governments collaborate on joint definitions and ambitious climate policies can make a significant contribution in this regard.
Facilitating investment in emerging economies such as India, South Africa, and Brazil to promote industrial decarbonization will be crucial to the success of decarbonization on a global scale.
The inseparability of the energy, climate and security nexus should be continuously recognized by the G7. The solution to the current energy crisis should focus on climate action and a transition to renewable energy.
A potential climate club and general coordination of climate policy in the G7 and beyond should be viewed as a climate alliance and be open and inclusive to willing members beyond these leading industrial nations. A focus should be on ambitious developing countries, especially the largest industrial producers and those already involved in industrial decarbonisation initiatives.
As Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft – German CEO Alliance for Climate and Economy and part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge we will continue to engage in dialogue between progressive companies and governments to identify solutions that work for the economy and protect the environment. Together with companies and governments, we want to emerge from the crisis with more climate protection.