Hundreds of companies have begun to factor the Paris Agreement on climate change into their business plans, according to a report issued Monday by the CDP. “In 2016 over 600 of the world’s largest listed companies disclosed to CDP that they are now factoring the Paris Agreement as a risk or opportunity that could generate substantive changes to how they do business,” the report says.
These companies include financial services giant Morgan Stanley, French oil and gas company Total, home improvement retailer Kingfisher, and construction company Carillion. “The national climate plans under the Paris Agreement represent at least US $13.5 trillion market for the energy sector alone in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies through 2030, according to Ceres. This market represents an opportunity for Morgan Stanley,” Morgan Stanley reported to CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project.
To capitalize on the private sector’s growing interest in the Paris Agreement, nations should prioritize quickly implementing the accord, the report says: “The Paris Agreement provided business with a clear direction of travel. To scale up private sector investments in the clean economy, governments now need to reconfirm their commitment and maintain momentum by swiftly ratifying the Paris Agreement and starting to implement their [nationally determined contributions].”
The agreement, which puts in place a legal framework under which nations are to pursue climate change mitigation actions, will enter into force 30 days after 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have ratified it at the domestic level. Currently, 28 nations representing 39.08 percent of global emissions have done so. The agreement is expected to enter into force in late 2016 or early 2107.
