We Mean Business Coalition

“SMEs may be small individually, but collectively they are a powerful force in the global transition” as Jennifer Austin, Climate High-Level Champions highlighted at our flagship event with SME Climate Hub at #COP30.     The event brought together entrepreneurs, Indigenous leaders, researchers and policymakers, highlighting what #SMEs need to adapt, compete and thrive.   As we reflect on the event this week, three themes are clear:  1. SMEs are essential to resilient economies  As Pamela Jouven, Director of the SME Climate Hub, reminded attendees, “SMEs are the backbone of local economies and global supply chains — and absolutely crucial to climate action.” SMEs represent 90% of businesses worldwide, 70% of the global workforce and a major share of global emissions. 2. They are already delivering solutions  These include autonomous drone technology restoring degraded land in Brazil (Fernando Pezzella, Ceres Seeding), regenerative and circular Indigenous business models (Maria Tuyuc Velásquez, Global Network of Indigenous Entrepreneurs), and Chinese SMEs in the solar and hydrogen sectors retooling their strategies to export low-carbon technologies and support green supply chains worldwide (Yue Pan, University of Helsinki). 3. They need an enabling environment  To accelerate their potential, SMEs need better access to information, clearer policy signals, stronger risk-sharing and scaled-up finance from governments and large corporations. As Vinicius Lages (SEBRAE) noted, large corporates have sector-specific knowledge that can help facilitate and accelerate capacity building for SMEs. SMEs are a distinct and critical stakeholder group for climate action. The SME Climate Hub’s open letter to heads of delegation at COP, calls on governments to adopt key policy priorities to empower SMEs to effectively cut emissions and contribute to building new thriving economies. The letter also called for a strengthened business case for SME decarbonization, and for streamlined and trusted guidance through centralized platforms, alongside the mobilization of access to green finance at the scale required. 🔗 Read and share the open letter: https://lnkd.in/eyv64JkZ 

Electrification can provide secure, competitive and affordable clean energy. Yet the world is not adopting and scaling electrification at the pace needed. At #COP30, we spoke to Iberdrola Global Head of Climate Change and Alliances Gonzalo Sáenz de Miera on the importance of electrification — and what is needed to accelerate it.    He highlighted three core things: 1. A global goal to set ambition, a strong narrative that underscores the opportunities electrification brings, and policies and incentives that enable a rapid uptake of electrification. 2. Iberdrola is showing that business is ready to support this transition. The world’s second-largest utility company is hiring 15,000 workers and investing €58 billion to 2028. 3. Electrification is the most efficient way to support the energy transition. Governments must now set the course by realigning public finance and policy support toward electrification, generation, grids and storage. Doing so will deliver energy security, job growth, improved livelihoods and greater global competitiveness.   Read why business supports realigned incentives: https://lnkd.in/gQvk_Xzi #JobsSecurityGrowth

#COP30 has concluded, and the formal outcomes fell way short of what is needed and do not match the speed of transition in the real economy. This is a missed opportunity to further accelerate the transition and its benefits.  Swipe to see more of our response, or read in full here:   https://lnkd.in/edQRE5Y6 #WMBC #Mutirao 

As #COP30 concludes – though negotiations continue - it was another busy year at the Business Pavilion. Co-hosted with Conselho Empresarial Brasileiro para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (Cebds), we convened 39 events with 125 panellists including leaders from business, government, finance and civil society. Covered widely in the news, there was a fire yesterday in the Blue Zone. All Coalition staff are safe and accounted for. Our thanks to the COP Presidency and emergency teams for managing this, and to all partners who reached out to check on our team.   Starting week one, Corporate Leaders Groups’ event, explored how integrated climate and nature targets can strengthen #NDCs and drive competitiveness. Another session co-hosted with Unilever showed why clear, investible NDCs are essential to scale the technologies and solutions already delivering benefits for economies and communities.    Next, with standing room only, we saw how diverse women leaders of all ages and from all regions are shaping the pace and direction of climate action at the Women Leading on Climate flagship event.    On Tuesday, the pavilion was full again for America Is All In’s session, outlining the tangible benefits that cities, states and businesses are delivering through pragmatic climate action. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Nate Hultman, Tim McDonnell and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pointed to new jobs, record renewable investment and projects that are reshaping communities.    Our forest finance session with Race to Belém focused on how private investment can accelerate the shift to land use systems that are deforestation and conversion free and that regenerate rather than deplete nature.     The electric era is here. Our session on clean electrification drove this message home by laying out the pathway to affordable, competitive and secure energy, showing how business action and clear government signals can unlock faster progress at scale.    Starting week two, SME Climate Hub underscored both the vulnerability of small businesses to climate impacts and their potential to drive innovation, resilience and economic transformation when supported by the right policies and finance.    Across dozens of events, our sponsors and partners covered a wide program on clean energy, industrial transformation, nature and biodiversity, high-integrity carbon markets, supply chain resilience and improved environmental data systems.    As we leave COP30, we can confidently say: business is innovating, business is implementing, and momentum is building. Now governments must set the course.     With thanks to our Business Pavilion sponsors and event contributors for their invaluable support: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) America Is All In Iberdrola National Grid Banco Itaú ACCIONA Siemens Unilever The Sunrise Project Inc. Natura LinkedIn KfW    And to our supporting partners: Conservation International Mission Possible Partnership Race to Belém Climate Leadership Coalition #WMBC

As we enter the final scheduled day of #COP30, businesses, investor groups, subnational actors and other organizations are speaking up in support of a fossil fuel roadmap.     The wide support for a commitment from COP to initiate a roadmap underlines the value of a just transition from fossil fuels, as momentum in the real economy accelerates the shift towards clean energy and electrification.  Businesses, investor groups and other organizations responsible for implementing the transition away from fossil fuels are adding their voices to this call. A robust, credible roadmap, anchored in real-world momentum toward clean energy and electrification can:  • Give the clarity needed to plan the shift to clean energy. • Strengthen energy security and reduce costs for consumers. • Support a just transition that improves health outcomes and economic resilience.  As of this morning, 130+ businesses and organizations have signed our statement. Swipe to see why the likes of Unilever, EDF, Buro Happold, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Climate Group, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), C40 Cities, Climate Leadership Coalition among many others are supporting the roadmap. View the statement, full list of signatories and more quotes from signatories here: https://lnkd.in/ehYXmA97 

As calls for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels grew at #COP30, our final event at the Business Pavilion yesterday brought together high-level officials and policymakers to focus on a key piece of the puzzle: how to realign fiscal incentives for a fair and effective energy transition. The joint Ministerial of #COFFIS - the Coalition for Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies, chaired by the Netherlands, and #CETP - Clean Energy Transition Partnership, chaired by the UK, set out how countries are working together to confront the scale of misaligned public finance and incentives. Our Director for Climate Policy Karl Vella opened the session with a clear call to action: "We need to realign financial incentives, shifting public money away from fossil fuels and into the clean energy transition." There is a real economic opportunity here. As Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Climate Envoy of the Netherlands, reminded participants, "More than one trillion dollars are still going to fossil fuels while we are transitioning away... We need to realign fiscal incentives with the clean energy transition." “We have to ramp up the investment in clean energy,” said UK Special Envoy Rachel Kyte. “It’s not that there isn’t enough finance… but it is misdirected and inefficiently deployed in harmful subsidies.” Spain underscored the public responsibility to lead on incentives, with director General at Spain’s Office for Climate Change Elena Pita highlighting her country’s efforts to accelerate renewables, storage and grid development, ensuring that no one is left behind. Despite differing national circumstances, and different looking transitions, the direction of travel is shared. Countries recognize that public finance must shift away from fossil fuels and toward the clean energy systems that strengthen resilience, competitiveness and long-term stability. As Mads Dalum Libergren from the Danish Ministry of Finance said, "Aligning fiscal incentives is really where the rubber meets the road." As the negotiations near their close and text are finalized, we must continue to insist that COP30 delivers a credible outcome on fossil fuel transition. As Kyte said, “We’ve got to start implementing what we agreed in Dubai,” underlining the support for this from a North-South coalition including countries big and small, producers and consumers. Realigning incentives, ending inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and backing electrification, grids and storage at scale are the fundamentals that shift capital and make clean energy cheaper, more reliable and more competitive. A roadmap anchored in these elements can move from a political concept to a genuinely meaningful, real-economy tool. See the business groups statement on realigning incentives that the Coalition coordinated ahead of COP30: https://lnkd.in/dTqpTuNv Gillian Nelson Andrew Prag Molly Walton Emily Huynh #FossilToClean #WMBC

🆕 There’s momentum in the real economy: the age of electrification and clean energy is here and, as we’ve seen in Belém and beyond, businesses and communities are already seizing the opportunities. To build on this progress, they need a fossil fuel roadmap that will help them plan the shift to clean energy. Governments are rallying behind a roadmap: 80+ countries are on board, and ministers have spoken up for its inclusion in the #COP30 outcome. Today, those who will implement this transition — 100+ organizations and companies including Buro Happold, EDF, Fortescue, H&M Group, Ingka Group, Natura, Saint-Gobain, Signify, SSAB, SSE plc, Vattenfall, VELUX and Volvo Cars, business groups, subnational governments, health organizations and wider real-economy actors — have signed the COP30 Statement for a Fossil Fuel Roadmap, organized by the Coalition.  The statement calls on governments to commit to initiating a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels and toward a future of renewable energy, clean electrification and greater energy resilience. Now is the time for a roadmap to accelerate a just energy transition well beyond COP30. #JobsSecurityGrowth #WMBC #FossilToClean #Mutirão 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ehYXmA97 ✏️ Signatories include: Better Futures Australia, BSR, Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia, C40 Cities, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), Centre for Sustainable Finance (CISL), Ceres, Inc., CLG Chile, Climate Group, ClimateVoice, Corporate Leaders Groups, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Exponential Roadmap Initiative, Keskuskauppakamari (Finland Chamber of Commerce), FMDV - Global Fund For Cities Development, Global Climate and Health Alliance, Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), Global Solar Council (GSC), Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Mission Possible Partnership, Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft, The B Team, TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute, WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development, World Benchmarking Alliance, World Green Building Council

“Renewable energy is the cheapest and most deployable form of energy we have. Aligning incentives to scale it rapidly is essential to meeting America’s surging demand.” At the Business Pavilion at #COP30, our gold sponsor America Is All In has been sending a clear signal that climate action across U.S. states, cities, businesses and institutions is accelerating, and enduring. At an event last week, subnational leaders Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Nate Hultman, Tim McDonnell and Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted how renewables and clean electrification is lowering bills, creating jobs and addressing dangerous pollution across the country. As panellist Lou Leonard, inaugural Dean of the School of Climate, Environment and Society at Clark University highlights, electrification delivers both climate and public-health benefits, while creating opportunities for students and communities to participate directly in the clean-energy transition. #WMBC #Electrification  

Here at COP30 Brazil, calls for the fossil fuel roadmap proposed by President Lula are getting louder. This rallying of country support is welcome. Business has been calling for a well-managed shift to #CleanEnergy and welcomes the signal that governments are exploring a clearer pathway to build on the progress made at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels. A roadmap has potential to support planning and investment and can build on the momentum we see in the real economy - towards renewable energy, clean electrification and greater energy resilience. For companies, a good roadmap can provide clarity on targets and timelines that can guide long-term decisions.    A letter from business groups organised by We Mean Business Coalition ahead of #COP30, highlighted key measures that can unlock progress on private sector momentum and accelerate implementation: realigning incentives, ending inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and backing electrification, grids and storage at scale.     These are the fundamentals that shift capital and make clean energy cheaper, more reliable and more competitive. A roadmap anchored in these elements can move from a political concept to a genuinely meaningful, real-economy tool.    Clean #electrification is the most effective way to deliver an energy transition that benefits people - it is the fastest route to lower costs, cleaner air and a more secure energy system. It is also where impetus is strongest and policy certainty has the biggest payoff. Companies are already making decisions based on their ability to secure clean power, modernise operations and protect themselves from fossil fuel volatility. A roadmap that can embed clean electrification and grid modernisation will help meet business needs.    Any route for the phase out of fossil fuels needs to reflect the different starting points of the Global North and South. A roadmap that can deliver a globally just transition will need finance, technology and market reforms, and a process that is co-developed.    The emerging proposal and the signal it affirms - that we are witnessing a structural shift towards clean energy - are encouraging. If governments use this moment to set out a coherent long-term direction, a roadmap can help define and accelerate action well beyond COP30.    #WMBC #FossiltoClean #ClimateAction Karl Vella l Gillian Nelson l Andrew Prag l Molly Walton l Faustine Delasalle l Champa Patel l Nehmat Kaur l Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme l Catherine McKenna l Sandrine Dixson-Declève l Marina Freitas Grossi l Laurence Tubiana l Jennifer Morgan

#COP30 in Belém, Brazil is slated as the “the implementation COP” - and business is the engine that turns climate ambition into action.  In a new article Stephen Smith, Chief Strategy and Regulation Officer for our Business Pavilion silver sponsor National Grid, emphasizes the importance of innovation to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.   Grids need to evolve to support a cleaner, more decentralized system - integrating higher shares of variable renewables, connecting new consumers and industries, handling increasing rates of end-use electrification and rising demand from data centers.     This means investing in new grid infrastructure and, importantly, better using the grids we already have through digitalization, deployment of smart technologies and innovative grid technologies, and increasing flexibility.     Backed by National Grid’s own £60 billion investment program across the UK and U.S. by 2029, Steve will be bringing this message to policymakers at COP30 - providing real-time proof that it’s possible to meet global energy demand while decarbonizing.    📖 Read more: https://lnkd.in/enKPVeSY