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In the lead up to the World Business Summit on Climate Change in May 2009 the Copenhagen Council Thought Leadership Series will present a collection of inspirational, concise and clearly argued pieces from some of the world's best thinkers and business leaders on climate change. The objective of the pieces is to assist in enhancing the public and political awareness of the actions that could have a significant impact on global emissions growth and to disseminate the message that it is time to act hence a new UN climate treaty will be developed in December 2009.

The Thought Leadership Series is aimed at elucidating and creating awareness of the key elements in the business and policy response to the climate problem. The rationale for a Thought Leadership Series on Climate Change includes:

A change in focus from stating we have a problem to communicating the solutions to the problem.
The potential and opportunities inherent in tackling climate change.

Publication

The series will be published individually in the months leading up to the World Business Summit on Climate Change, in May 2009, and finally collected in a book published by the Copenhagen Climate Council.

Each essay will be posted on the Copenhagen Climate Council website and linked to from partner websites. They will also be sent personally to the Copenhagen Climate Council key stakeholders, including high-profile business leaders and lead negotiators from the U.N.

Themes:

Lead author: Samuel A. DiPiazza (PWC)

Co-authors: James E. Rogers (Duke Energy), Anders Eldrup (DONG Energy), Rob Morrison (CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets)

This paper sets out how emissions trading can achieve the economic signals necessary to boost investment in low-emissions technology, innovation, and the development of new consumer products and business models that effectively substitute traditional, unsustainable patterns in transportation and building.

Read and share your thoughts

This paper will set out the nature of the challenge and propose the elements in a new global climate treaty and other policy drivers necessary to promoting the economic growth and human betterment the developing economies require, with the low emissions growth tackling the climate problem demands.

This short paper will set out and explain how innovative CO2 could be drawn down from the atmosphere such as new agricultural practices, sequestering carbon in soils and avoiding deforestation.

This paper will focus on how integrated city design and planning can help achieve emissions reduction in existing urban centres through pointing to existing best practice and suggesting how lessons can be applied at scale.

David Blood (Generation Investment Management) and James Cameron (Climate Change Capital)

The low-carbon transformation in the global economy is going to require a major shift in global investment flows from economic activities which promote emissions growth to those which limit greenhouse emissions. This short paper sets out the changes necessary in the global financial system.

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Lead author: Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr. (PwC)

Introduction: Erik Rasmussen (Copenhagen Climate Council)

This essay distills insights from ten top executives about how their firms are innovating across sectors and boundaries to account for climate change, and how these actions can minimize risk and leverage new opportunities.

Read and share your thoughts

This short paper will outline the enormous adaptation challenges facing us, particularly through the water systems, and propose policy initiatives and actions to be included in a new global climate treaty and other policy drivers.

Daniel M. Kammen (UC Berkeley) and Ditlev Engel (Vestas Wind Systems A/S)

Green is the new blue... blue collar, that is. In this paper, Dan Kammen and Ditlev Engel demonstrate that appropriate policies and large-scale strategic investment in clean energy technologies will spur greater employment than investment in fossil-based sources and pay dividends for the planet.

This paper will creatively describe a future scenario for the years 2020, 2050, and 2080. It will describe how effective global agreements have stimulated the required investment in low emissions energy and transport technologies.