Majority of Business Leaders Call for a Climate Change Agreement in Paris to Support Private Sector Investment

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151112005023/en/Majority-Business-Leaders-Call-Climate-Change-Agreement

November 12, 2015 08:01 AM Eastern Standard Time

A majority of business leaders say that a long term agreement at the UN climate summit (COP21) in Paris is critical to supporting private sector investment in low carbon solutions, according to a global study by the United Nations Global Compact and Accenture (NYSE:ACN). The report also reveals that executives see action on climate change as an opportunity for growth and innovation that will be essential to securing competitive advantage in their industries.

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Business leaders are clear that government action is critical to supporting further progress. Seventy four percent of executives at companies with more than US$1 billion in annual revenues, and 61 percent of all respondents, see a long-term agreement in Paris as critical to unlocking private-sector investment in climate solutions.

The concern about policy action comes as two thirds (66 percent) of business leaders say that the private sector is not doing enough to tackle climate change. Ninety-one percent believe that action is an urgent priority for business, but just one-third (34%) see progress on track to restrict global warming to less than the 2°C limit.

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