Any more than you can shed 30 pounds in a week, you cannot correct course on climate change in one conference.
The current Conference of the Parties gathering in Paris, dubbed COP21, wisely isn’t a crash diet. It strives for, and ought to achieve within the week, a framework that binds countries to their self-penned commitments and a timetable to regularly check progress and produce new goals.
All of this effort by nearly 200 countries is not a solution but the cornerstone of a plan to find one. It at last gets us to the starting line of the most important race for the planet.
This anticipated outcome of COP21 is the best possible course for business. It sets the course but doesn’t prescribe the path. It permits a combination of strategies to transform energy production and consumption. It articulates the financial support to provide developing countries climate-related assistance.
We know that as technology emerges and becomes more economical, it will accelerate a greener world. In time we can also expect to recognize mutual self-interests, even to appreciate the economic opportunities of climate change – and not simply the sacrifices or losses we will experience. We aren’t there yet, even if the Paris gathering is designed to identify collective responsibility.
The Canadian contingent in Paris has represented well the widespread aspirations of federal, provincial and municipal governments, First Nations, business, labour and anyone who might wish to be considered an environmentalist. We can overstate our country’s new political tone, but there is little question that Canada is now perceived as a conduit and not an impediment to consequential improvements on the issue.
The business challenge is to see COP21 less as a political triumph and more as the next stage of a transformation that will eventually offer more sustainable local, regional and national economies.
