The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For
- Media Manager
- Nov 30, 2023
- 1 min read
TIME
Written By: Justin Worland
Published: November 30th, 2023
The U.N. climate conference known as COP28 officially kicked off this afternoon in Dubai with more corporate executives and big players in the financial sector present than in any such meeting before. Much of their attention on the ground will focus on the private sector announcements made and deals struck, but there's a reason for private sector folks to pay attention to the seemingly wonky official negotiations taking place between countries in Dubai’s Expo City convention center.
For many businesses, the conversations can seem overly procedural and disconnected from the day-to-day reality of cutting a firm’s emissions. And yet these negotiations can move the market over time, and it’s worth paying attention to the signal that emerges from Dubai.
To understand how such influence can spread from COP negotiation halls, look no further than the negotiations that took place in Paris in 2015. Countries agreed to come up with plans to limit average global warming to well-below 2°C over pre-industrial temperatures. The commitment was non-binding for countries and had even less of an immediate impact for companies.
