USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson and USCIB Vice President Norine Kennedy are in Lima, Peru this week for the UN climate talks (COP20). Robinson took part in a press briefing yesterday alongside other members of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), including James Bacchus of Greenberg Traurig, chair of the ICC Commission on Trade and Investment.
Both Robinson and Bacchus are quoted at length in an article in today’s Financial Times, “Business calls for greater say in climate talks,” calling for a much bigger role for business in the UN climate negotiations. Here are some key quotes from the article, which is available in its entirety on the FT’s website
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Robinson: “If a global agreement on climate change doesn’t work for and with businesses, it just won’t work.”
Bacchus: “This issue is important for governments to address but it is far too important to leave to governments alone.”
Robinson: “We want to find an opportunity where we are more inside the tent than on the sidelines. We are concerned that we are not as fully engaged now as the world needs us to be.”
Bacchus (on the need for an agreement to guarantee open markets for trade and investment): “What kind of access will developing countries have to the new green technologies they need if they restrict trade and restrict investment?”
You can access recent statements and other materials from the Lima conference on USCIB’s webpage dedicated to COP20. We are also tweeting from Lima using the hashtag #BizCOP20.
Staff contact: Norine Kennedy
